Women's roles and their participation in the development process are researched in order to assist in including women in development.
Using its extensive information capabilities, the UN's International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) researches women and development issues. For example, the Institute has specified research of women and communication in the mass and alternative media in Argentina, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. It is aimed at comprehending the circumstances of women both as producers and users of mass and alternative media and identifying strategies for promoting a better representation and participation of women in them. Another INSTRAW study examines the major environmental problems affecting women and the actions being taken to solve them, at different levels, in Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, and Tahiti.