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      Women Transforming the World

      GO TO SPEAKERS

      We cannot end poverty on a livable planet with half the population excluded from reaching their full potential. We must #AccelerateEquality.

      In a discussion with Ministers from Nigeria, Togo, and the UK, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga announced a set of actions and goals to boost economic opportunities for more women – aligned with its new Gender Strategy, dedicated to expanding women’s participation in the global economy. By 2030, the World Bank Group aims to:

      • Enable 300 million more women to use broadband – unlocking services, education, and job opportunities.
      • Support 250 million women with social protection programs, focusing on the poorest and most vulnerable.
      • Provide 80 million more women and women-led businesses with capital, to boost entrepreneurship.

      Ministers discussed how these efforts can accelerate women’s economic opportunities, complementing initiatives in their own countries – including reforms to ensure equitable laws, diverse representation on boards and parliaments, supporting women-led businesses, and extending ladders for opportunities.

      Follow #WBGMeetings for updates about the Annual Meetings.

      Let us know what you think would make the most impact to Accelerate Equality!  Post your answer to your preferred social network (right click or long press to copy the picture and paste in your post) and ask your contacts if they agree!   

      We will highlight the most compelling posts on World Bank platforms. Here are a few ideas:

      00:00 Welcome

      01:43 Bringing women at the center

      06:00 World Bank Group Gender Strategy

      10:50 Gender equality in Togo

      17:22 How Nigeria is expanding economic opportunities for women

      25:50 How UK is promoting gender equality

      31:17 Closure

      [Shakuntala Santhiran] Hello. Welcome to the 2024 Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group. This is Women Transforming the World. My name is Shakuntala Santhiran, Shaks for short. It is Accelerate Equality Day here at the World Bank. And this morning we’re going to talk about something that will benefit us all, unlocking the financial potential of women around the world for their well-being and to accelerate progress in all areas of development, but there are many obstacles. Our distinguished panel of experts will talk about these and share solutions that can be scaled up to help drive global progress. We’d love to hear from you. You can share your thoughts anytime using the hashtag #WBGMeetings. We have experts in multiple languages standing by to answer your questions online at live.worldbank.org. Please, post your questions in the live chat or just use the QR codes displayed around the room if you’re here with us. And now, without further ado, please join me in welcoming Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, Her Excellency, Sandra Ablamba Johnson, Minister and Secretary General of the Presidency of Togo, the Right Honorable Anneliese Dodds, Minister for Development and Minister for Women and Equalities of the United Kingdom, and the Honorable Adebayo Olawale Edun, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance. Please. [Applause] [Shakuntala Santhiran] A very warm welcome to you all. This is such a timely conversation. Let’s dive right in. Starting with you, please, Ajay. So, the World Bank changed its mission last year to that of creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet with women at the center. When you announced this, you said that “we cannot defeat poverty with half the world’s population on the sidelines.” Have you examples for us of how we can bring more women into the game?

      [Ajay Banga] Thank you. And that’s absolutely the right... I actually think you and I did a panel together last year on that very topic. So that’s an important aspect of this. At the end of the day, the productivity and capacity of women to change our future is second to none, and the reason is very simple. They bring up our families, they bring up our cultures, they bring up our values. They end up doing a lot of informal work. If you can convert that informal work to leadership and real work, and if you can do it in a constructive way where nobody feels that somebody else is being denied an opportunity because someone else has been given one, but just that everybody is getting a level playing field that they deserve to be able to run and win, then I believe we can unlock enormous opportunity and enormous potential for the future. Inside this is a serious issue of cultural biases and historical biases against this topic. It’s not that easy to do, it’s easy to speak to. But I’ve seen firsthand over the years, Shaks, when I was in my prior job back at Citibank and MasterCard, that if you enable a lady of the house with social and economic independence, she transforms her family forever. The multiplier effect of her ability to not only transform her life, but that of those around her, is why I believe that unlocking the potential of this dormant opportunity is enormous for our future. It fits into many things, in climate. To be completely honest, I have this way of describing man versus humanity as the challenge for nature. I was told man versus humanity is politically incorrect. I should say humanity versus nature. I actually I still think I’m right. It’s man versus humanity. That’s a challenge on nature because it’s the men who like their Humvees and their big trucks and so on. I’ve never seen a woman really enjoying a Humvee to drive. I just think this is a deep issue, whether in a village or a town. That’s the first thing. The second piece is you cannot get this out of the way, that cultural bias, without clear light being shined on the data that can embarrass people about why they should do things differently. So, one of the things that we want to do is to use our ability to create data and the transparency of data to make this conversation come above water and have a really good discussion. The third part of this is that the regulatory laws in many countries, you look at our Women, [Business] and the Law report, it tells you that women don’t have the same rights across certain parts of the world. And I think, again, we can be helpful in both shining a light, but also helping to move those policies in the right way, from asset ownership to business ownership and the like. Then the last two things I’d say we’re getting them in is you cannot get them to come to work from where they live if you don’t give them safety in going and coming. Safety comes in many ways. Of course, better policing. But a bus rapid transit system which has benefits on climate actually has enormous benefits in the safety of a woman going to work and coming back. The same is true of things like childcare. The historical role that a woman plays in a family’s evolution needs to be managed in a way that we enable her to also do this other thing we’re talking about. There are things the Bank is doing already on all of these. I just think bringing a light to them, focusing on them, and multiplying our effort with ambitious targets, aligning all parts of the Bank to do it, and working with partners like these is what will make a difference.

      [Shakuntala Santhiran] So, the World Bank has long championed gender equality, and this year you launch a new gender strategy, focused on three pillars, ending…

      [Ajay Banga] You’re still with me? [Ajay Banga] Yes, Ajay. Still with you. We want to hear more from you. So, there are three pillars to this new gender strategy, right? Ending gender-based violence, and giving women quality of life with economic empowerment, and leadership. And you are now starting the economic empowerment phase or increasing that phase. What are the goals and what’s your approach on this? [Ajay Banga] It’s a little difficult to divorce one from the other because they’re all interconnected, but for a minute, let’s take economic empowerment. Our goals for today’s Meeting are to put out three clear places we are going. The first is to include women in our social benefit programs. We are saying that a quarter of a billion women, 250 million women, everything is by 2030… A quarter of a billion women, 250 million, should benefit directly from these social benefit programs that we do ourselves and with partners in different countries. Partners like governments, but also institutions of other types, fintechs and banks and the like. The idea here is not just to put the money out there. The idea is to create the digital registries that enable the money to reach these women without the sticky fingers that come along the way if you go through physical channels. At the same time, thereby, give them a chance to be digitally educated with skills and the like or coaching, so they can actually do something and transform from this to more. The second big pillar is broadband. Our world is being driven by data and technology, and if women are locked out of broadband, it’s not a good place to be if you’re ambitious to change this method. We want to get to 300 million women with broadband connectivity by 2030. What that’s going to require, obviously, we’re not giving it to a woman and not to a man, but the idea is to ensure that you go to places where infrastructure and reach is the poorest. Typically, that’s where the woman is the most disadvantaged, and thereby bias the system towards getting more women to get the benefit of broadband connectivity. Do it both through infrastructure, but also through, for example, in 15 African countries, we’ve actually got tangible programs in place, not for the infrastructure, but also all the things that need to come with the infrastructure to make the connectivity real and actually be something that she can derive value from. Skills, learning, access to financial services, all that. The third item is more specific. It’s 80 million women we want to connect to financial services in a way to get them capital or equity or debt for their businesses. I believe that the entrepreneurial opportunity with enabling this female gender entrepreneur to go out there and build businesses is enormous. One very simple thing I’ve seen, all my years, if a woman starts a business, she tends to employ a lot of women. This can be our multiplier. Everywhere, all I’m talking about is using this as multiplier effects. The idea is to get 80 million women access through our partners, fintechs, private equity funds, banks, incubators, the whole lot. But then what about gender bonds? If we can do green bonds, why can’t we do gender bonds, and raise money for the purpose from there? Then the team here, Mamta [Murthi] and her team, have got this Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code going in 25 countries. We want to use, actually, I think Nigeria is one of them. We want to use these 25 country pilots as a way to help enact regulatory reform, and the right access to financial services and the like. So, think of it as 250 million access to social benefits, 300 million broadband, and 80 million to financial capability to open their own business.

      [Shakuntala Santhiran] So, this is not just the right thing to do, it’s also the smart thing to do. There’s a major opportunity here. If anyone needs convincing, there is World Bank data that shows that if women were employed at the same rate as men, long-run income per capita could grow by almost 20%. That is a major opportunity for the benefit of us all. If I may just say, Minister Johnson, Minister Dodds, you are women who are really helping transform the world. I’m sure you are an inspiration to many women and girls in your countries and beyond. Thank you. We are grateful to have you here with us. And also, you, gentlemen, because we need all hands on deck. Now, Minister Johnson. Togo has made reforms to improve the legal rights of women in your country as part of your commitment to advancing gender equality. Togo has had a very strong showing in the World Bank’s latest Women, Business, and the Law report. Why are these legal reforms so important for women and for Togo’s economic progress?

      [Sandra Ablamba Johnson] Thank you very much, Madam moderator. I would like also to express my sincere thanks to you, Ajay, for inviting me to join this important discussion on gender, which is very, very dear to my health and to that of men and women also in my country. Let me tell you that the first person who holds this agenda in our country, this is the head of state himself. For us, we think that there is no way that we can achieve sustainable development without involving women because they are the majority. It’s like the parliament. In Togo, women represent 52%. In this, we think that, or we strongly believe that investing in women remains the way that we can easily achieve our social and economic development. In Togo, we do a lot, but I will try to focus only on three areas. The first related to the women economy business, the second related to the financial inclusive, because Ajay also talked about it, and the third related to the women leadership. When I say women business area, it’s very well known that Togolese women start out as having entrepreneurship in boots in their DNA. For those who know Togo, you all know the Nana Benz. Those women who are close to the entire Africa rose to prominence and became, year by year, the first billionaires, I repeat it well, the first billionaire woman business in trading in West Africa. And these women worked in textile, branding work, between 1968 and 1918. They contributed a lot to the prices of the continent. But let me tell you that most of these women never attended school. Most of these women never attended school. And we believe that by the conviction, their determination to succeed, they surprised the African continent. As evidence, these women that we call Nana Benz offered graciously to the government, as part of head of state meeting in Lomé, the luxury Mercedes-Benz for organizing the meeting. It just means that when you make the condition women can easily surprise you more than we think. [Applause] [Shakuntala Santhiran] There you go. [Sandra Ablamba Johnson] So, I think that we need more Nana Benz at scale, and in Togo, we are working on it. On financial inclusion, as you know, Gnassingbé has proven that women, because I see my sister here, are the better part of the loan. And in Togo, we have eliminated the gender gap by setting up a dedicated inclusive financial fund to all the communities, but I will let you appreciate the results. Ten years after, because they celebrated the 10 years last March, 2,000 of Togolese is out of 8,000 benefits from this financial assistance. And 80% are women. [Shakuntala Santhiran] Wow. [Sandra Ablamba Johnson] But the surprise is in that these women who received, firstly, around 76,000, not only pay very well their loan, as you say, but now apply for 80,000 dollars, from 60,000 to 80,000 dollars. How amazing! Once again, it’s showing that if a woman, you put her in a good condition, she doesn’t have money, she doesn’t just need to be in confidence, and she can easily surprise herself. On women leadership sides, in Togo, we believe that having women in decision, making roles, at every level is critical to realize women empowerment, and we have practiced that. Our Prime Minister is a woman. Previous Parliament Chair was a woman. The Chief of Cabinet of the President is a woman, myself. And one-third of the government are women. Let me end by congratulating the Bank for launching the target for gender equality to measure the implementation of the World Bank gender equality. Targets are great at the post to threat and in Togo, we embrace this, and we are working to help Togolese women to prosper. Thank you. [Applause]

      [Shakuntala Santhiran] Thank you, Minister Johnson, for sharing all that. Very encouraging to hear all that progress in Togo. So, Minister Johnson and Ajay, you were both talking about the need to close the financial gap for women-led businesses, among other things. As you said, Ajay, Nigeria is taking concrete steps in that direction. You’re piloting the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code, which aims to boost funding for women entrepreneurs around the world. There is a global funding shortfall of some 1.7 trillion dollars for women-led businesses. And the WE Finance Code, by the way, is inspired and modeled after the UK’s Investing in Women Code. If women were on an equal footing with men in entrepreneurship, they could add some 5 trillion dollars per year to the global economy. So, in addition to being a signatory of this code, Nigeria also has flagship programs like Nigeria for Women. Minister Edun, what impact is this having? And as a finance minister, why is it important for countries to invest in expanding economic opportunities for women?

      [Adebayo Olawale Edun] Thank you. Figures and data are being bandied around here and are being focused on and used to measure progress. As I look around, I can see there are far more women in this audience than men. And rightly so, because I think if you start from the point of view of where are we, which direction are we going in terms of the improvement in the lives of women, social justice, equality, access to opportunity, including finance. I’m not sure that we can say that we’re moving yet in the right direction. I’m not sure that we can say we’re making progress at the rate that we need to. So, it is very, very... I think it’s very opportune that we’re here discussing this topic and that we have this audience. In Nigeria, 49% of the population are women. And so, apart from the social justice aspect, just the pure economics of it, as Ajay and others have said here today, if you have a plane and it has two engines and you decide to fly on one engine, compare that with, if you decide to give both engines a chance, you will go farther, you will go faster, you will go higher, you will go better. It’s really as simple as that. If we empower our female population and give them the same access that we have given our men, the whole society will be better off for it. I think that goes without saying. In Nigeria, we have been deliberate. We have a national action plan for the empowerment, the economic empowerment of women. It was launched just recently, a year or two ago by the President, but what it points to is that it is a deliberate commitment, and it comes from the very top, politically. We have our flight check programs, and we’re grateful to the World Bank for the Nigeria for Women Project. And what that does, it’s currently in six states and to be rolled out in even more. I think it’s a project that people around the world should take the opportunity to come and see, and learn from, because what it does is it puts women in what we call women affinity groups, essentially self-help groups. Within those groups, you have about 22,000. Within those groups, women learn, they train, they get funding, they get education, they get assistance, and of course, between themselves, they strengthen themselves, and in particular, they fund themselves. They have group saving schemes whereby they, in turn, lend to each other. That has proved a very successful model for helping those women to get on their feet, get a chance to be entrepreneurs, and of course, learn about life skills across the board. Of course, they now become a focal point at which the likes of donors, government, can access them. In addition, for the critical age of 10 to 20, young girls. We know historically, culturally, traditionally, the kinds of difficulties they can race, from early marriage and so on and so forth, and violence, so on and so forth. We have a program. Thanks very much again, Ajay. It is World Bank supported. What it does is that it helps that group to stay in education, to stay within the formal purview of education, training, support, funding for those who want to become entrepreneurs, skills development for others. It also intervenes to make sure that the all-important financing that sometimes takes them out of the educational sector and the educational line, that they have the funding to keep them on track. That is proving very, very successful as well. You can have no greater commitment than to young girls through those vulnerable years. That’s what that project is doing. We also, in the digital space, the all-important digital space that, as we know, can be so empowering. We have around 600 million dollars of funding going into a program called the Digital and Creative Enterprises Sector. It’s aimed at 15 to 35-year-olds, so all the way from those still at school that are trying to be entrepreneurs, all the way to the age of 35, and around 30% is earmarked for young women. It helps them with startup capital, it helps them with technology training, it helps them with general skills development. So, these are very deliberate, very targeted initiatives that are aimed at ensuring that we empower women over and above what the normal schooling system, what the traditional system, and what the culture in which they are in would do for them. And of course, the results are likely to be phenomenal because these are talented, these are ambitious, these are energetic people, and what they want is that chance to show what they can do, that help and that support to get on the ladder to success. Thank you. [Applause]

      [Shakuntala Santhiran] Bravo. And as you said, why are we flying a plane with just one engine? Such a great analogy. Thank you, Minister Edun. Now, Minister Dodds, you are the UK’s Minister for International Development and also Domestic Minister for Women and Equality, it is the first time that the UK has combined these roles. So, what is the UK doing to promote gender equality? And how does this relate to your international development priorities?

      [Anneliese Dodds] Well, thank you so much for having me on this very distinguished panel. I’m very grateful to Ajay for inviting me to be here. My goodness, it’s so inspiring to be with people who really have been at the forefront of pushing this agenda forward, which is so important, and it is critical for the new UK government as we seek to modernize our approach to international development, and indeed, put women and girls at the heart of all that we do. I am the Governor for the UK on five MDBs. We also have for the first time our Governor for the IMF being a woman, so two women in those roles for the first time for the UK. [Applause] [Shakuntala Santhiran] Yeah! [Anneliese Dodds] We’re very pleased. I don’t want to repeat all that’s been said already so powerfully, but very clearly, it’s the case that from the climate crisis through conflict, so often it’s women and girls who are at the brunt of crises, but we’re often cut out of making the solutions as well. We believe that needs to change. We know from the UK’s experience that putting women and girls’ equality at the forefront also delivers very powerfully for economic development as well. We are seeing many women and girls experience a devastating rollback of their rights and freedoms. At home and internationally, as a result, I wish we didn’t have to keep making this argument, the moral political economic argument for women’s equality, but clearly, we do still need to be doing that. We already, of course, have heard about that potential economic impact from greater inclusion, from women working in the formal labor market at the same rate as men, also from women having more similar pay rates to men. The 20% difference was already mentioned rightly by Shacks. Just to say, if you look at the long-term impact of this, that’s about adding the US’s economic output onto the global economy. That’s the change we could get if we made sure that women were economically empowered. But the World Economic Forum recently assessed it’s going to take us 134 years to close that global gender gap at current rates. My goodness, I don’t think I’m going to be around then, and I don’t think many of this audience are going to be around then. We’ve got to accelerate on this. We really need to make sure that emerging areas of employment, like green growth, but also construction, other areas of our economies and care that they are including women fully, that we also see that empowering women and girls isn’t just the right thing to do, that it’s assessed as a core part of economic policy. We’re really delighted by the targets that Ajay set out. We think they really will be important in pushing this agenda forward. But the UK’s experience also tells us that women’s economic empowerment can’t be addressed in isolation from a range of other factors. We’ve already talked about many of these today, as well as giving women more access to resources, as has been mentioned, like credit so powerfully by Minister Johnson, also asset and education, we need to make sure they have more control over those resources, too. Part of this is about legal protections for women, as was mentioned, but it’s also about addressing norms, as was talked about, and power dynamics. We need to be making headway here, and more quickly, growing economies in a way that’s sustainable and creates quality jobs for women, reforming care, as well as Ajay mentioned, so that men and women share the responsibilities of unpaid care work more easily and equitably, that care workers are properly rewarded and represented. We do need to be promoting women’s leadership and how exciting it was to hear about great examples of that from Togo. We need to make sure that the law protects women, including in the workplace, as my government is doing in the UK. Fundamentally, we also do need to make sure that women and adolescent girls have sexual and reproductive health rights and services, too. I’m really pleased to see the Bank gets this. It’s really exciting, and that this is reflected in the new gender strategy alongside these powerful new targets. So, we also just know, finally, IDA21 is going to be critical to hitting those targets as well. We’re really pleased, actually, to be stating that we will be increasing our support for IDA21, and I’m very delighted to be here again for part of this discussion. Thank you. [Applause]

      [Shakuntala Santhiran] On that very positive note, I am afraid we have to wrap up. I have so many more questions for you, but you have a very important meeting to get to. Many, many thanks for all your insights, your inspiration. Women’s full economic potential is clearly crucial to ending world poverty. Today, we’ve learned about scalable solutions that work, and the World Bank’s new ambitious targets to help us get there by ensuring that millions more women are equipped to use broadband internet, by supporting millions more women with social protection programs, and providing millions more women-led businesses with capital. These essential services will not only boost the well-being of women, they will contribute to the well-being of their families, their communities, and their countries. Empower women, empower humanity. [Applause] [Shakuntala Santhiran] To you, our viewers here and online, what you think matters, we encourage you to be part of the #AccelerateEquality social media challenge. You can take part online via the Social Media Challenge tab on live.worldbank.org. Or if you’re here in person, just stop by the social media booth in the lobby just behind that wall. That brings us to the end of our event. You can watch a replay of this session and our other events at live.worldbank.org. Please, do continue sharing your comments with us online with the hashtag #WBGMeetings. Thank you for joining us, and now let’s get to work! [Applause]

      [Narrator] Today, the World Bank Group announces new targets that will change the lives of millions. First, ensuring that by 2030, 300 million more women are equipped and able to use broadband internet, increasing connectivity, access to affordable devices and services, and building their skills to navigate the digital world. Second, ensuring 250 million women benefit from social protection programs, promoting better employment, preventing income loss, and protecting against shocks and transitions. Third, providing 80 million more women and women-led businesses with access to capital, unlocking economic growth, fostering innovation, and accelerating equality. [Music] [Narrator] We do this because the potential is immense. When women have the tools they need, they can create change, not just for themselves, but for entire communities, countries, even the world. [Music] [Narrator] So she can learn, so she can lead, so she can thrive, for all women everywhere, for all of us who wish to see an end to poverty on a livable planet. Together, we can accelerate equality. Together, we can end poverty on a livable planet. Let’s get to work! [Music]

      Read the chat

      • Elizabeth Mensah

        Elizabeth Mensah

        Senior Gender Specialist, MIGA

      • Yasmine Acheampong

        Yasmine Acheampong

        Operations Officer, Gender Group

      • Alicia S. Hammond

        Alicia S. Hammond

        Lead on Gender Equality, Digital Transformation

      • Priyanka Kolasa

        Priyanka Kolasa

        Senior Operations Officer and Strategy Lead for the IFC’s Gender & Economic Inclusion Group

      Welcome everyone! I am Erick Rabemananoro, and I will be moderating the online discussion today. I will be providing updates and highlights from the event and sharing resources on the topic at hand.

      Moderator: Erick Rabemananoro

      I am joined by four expert live bloggers who will answer questions during the event: Alicia S. Hammond, Priyanka Tayal Kolasa, Elizabeth Mensah, and Yasmine Sampomaa Acheampong.

      Moderator: Erick Rabemananoro

      Our event is moderated by Shakuntala Santhiran, Shaks for short. She is an international broadcast journalist, professional moderator, and MC. She has more than two decades of experience as a television news anchor, reporter and producer with leading media organizations including the BBC, CNN International and Al Jazeera English.

      Moderator: Erick Rabemananoro

      The panel includes Ajay Banga, the World Bank President, Adebayo Olawale Edun, Finance Minister from Nigeria, Sandra Ablamba Johnson, Planning Minister and General Secretary at the Presidency from Togo , and Anneliese Dodds, Minister for Development, Women & Equalities from the United Kingdom.

      Moderator: Erick Rabemananoro

      By 2030, the WBG will boost economic opportunities for women by equipping 300 million more women to use broadband internet, supporting over 250 million more women with social protection programs, and providing 80 million more women and women-led businesses with capital.

      Moderator: Erick Rabemananoro

      In your view, what do you see as the most significant barriers preventing women from entering and advancing in the workforce, particularly when it comes to gender discrimination in hiring and promotion? How can organizations better address these challenges to foster more equitable opportunities for women

      June Lutchman

      Gender gaps in labor force participation persist worldwide. Closing this gap can lead to sizeable gains for economies—a 20 percent increase in GDP per capita, on average. Women comprise a growing share of the skilled workforce and bring diverse perspectives that fuel innovation and deliver results. However, female labor force participation (FLFP) remains low due to lack of skills, assets and networks, time-based constraints, limited mobility, gender discrimination in hiring and promotion, and restrictive gender norms. The World Bank Group actively works with the public and private sector in boosting FLFP through development policy lending and investments, advisory and analytical work, and supporting reforms to address constraining contextual factors, including legal barriers, social norms, care, and gender-based violence. You can read more about the WBG’s approach to increasing FLFP here:  tinyurl.com/yv7kb3kc

      Expert: Priyanka Kolasa

      Financial institutions can play a significant role in helping women overcome financial difficulties and boost their businesses by revising traditional lending criteria and offering more accessible, inclusive financial services. Here are several ways they can achieve this:Flexible Lending Criteria
      Tailored Financial Products
      Financial Literacy and Training
      Digital Financial Services
      Targeted Investment Funds
      Promoting Inclusivity and Equity
      Peer-to-Peer Lending and Crowdfunding

      Christine

      The World Bank Group is committed to engaging with Financial institutions to close this gap. For example, MIGA’s clients have committed over 1.4 billion dollars to women and women owned businesses in the last 3 years, and have collaborated with IFC’s Banking on Women business to support gender intelligence training, workshops to design gender value propositions, and define minimum viable products for women. Since 2012, IFC’s Banking on Women business  tinyurl.com/97rb9wfm  has mobilized and invested $8.6 billion in emerging market financial institutions to finance women entrepreneurs and micro, small, and medium enterprises owned and led by women of which $5 billion were specifically for Women owned or led SMEs. In FY24 nearly $1 out of every $5 that FIG invested was earmarked for women and women-led MSMEs. IFC has helped 11 financial institutions launch Gender Bonds in 8 countries, and has invested over $1 billion in housing finance for women. You can read more here:  tinyurl.com/m95wajcm  and here  www.miga.org/gender

      Expert: Elizabeth Mensah

      What lessons can the WB share on influencing major non-gender programs to increase WEE and gender lens investing?

      Leisa Gibson

      Thank you for the question. There is wide consensus that women entrepreneurs are less likely to gain access to financial services than men, such as credit and equity financing, insurance, and savings. WBG is approaching this through targeted interventions that improve access to skills, finance, markets and technology while also tackling contextual constraints. You can read more about the WBG’s approaches for supporting women-led business here:  tinyurl.com/4hk4yhfa  As an example, IFC works with its partner funds, accelerators, and investee companies to implement targeted interventions aimed at increasing gender equality and supporting gender-lens investing across sectors and markets. Learn more:  tinyurl.com/nf9ebvt3

      Expert: Priyanka Kolasa

      It is great to hear these ambitious targets.

      Gaurav

      We need more woman on Boards. How do we achieve this?

      Teresa

      Thanks for this important question. Indeed, as per a 2023 study, women hold only 23.3 percent of board seats and 8.4 percent of board chair positions. Approaches to compel change include approaches such as quotas and targets, transparency and reporting requirements, corporate governance codes, and investor activism. The WBG is supporting women’s leadership and decision-making, including through the IFC’s Women on Boards and in Business Leadership program. You can read more about WBG’s approach towards increasing women’s representation in business leadership, including on Boards, here:  tinyurl.com/37tex5w6

      Expert: Priyanka Kolasa

      What are the most suitable ways to break the prevailing barriers supporting women underserved communities.

      Angonimi David-Imeh

      Thanks for this important question. Supporting women in underserved communities is essential to accelerating gender equality across the world. Women in underserved communities face multiple constraints that heighten their vulnerability and interventions to support them must be holistic and sustainable. Interventions may include: providing financial resources to support women’s entrepreneurship and employment; changing laws that expand women’s ownership and control of land; improving access to safe transport and care services. These programs could also be complemented by interventions to end GBV, enhance skills, and engage women in community decision-making.

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      Diversity, equity and inclusion is occupying the discuss on the table and especially it is shaping investment decisions of major stakeholders. Stakeholders are getting all the more engaged in DEI, from the formation of board members, to employees and to business localization. Parallelly the variables of diversity is increasing, ranging from the more obvious such as gender and the salient ones such as women with disabilities, women returning to careers after a long break from worklife due family situations such birth or caring for a family, peculiarity of women of third world and African countries etc. Sometimes non-inclusivity could be a perception or could be passive, how is the WBG ensuring the right space in ensuring DEI so as no one is left behind, what are the work place values the WBG has in dealing with salient variables of diversity, what is their visibility and instrument of exchange when it comes to institutionalization of DEI

      Martha_Damina

      Thank you for this important question on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Indeed, workplaces benefit from greater DEI in numerous ways. For example, we know that companies with more gender 0diverse leadership demonstrate a stronger commitment to inclusive growth, broader stakeholder focus and good ESG Practices. This is why the WBG Gender Strategy has prioritized these three objectives: (1) end gender-based violence and elevate human capital, (2) expand and enable economic opportunities, and (3) engage women as leaders. You can learn more about our gender strategy here:  tinyurl.com/2awn7rau.
      IFC and MIGA work to reduce gaps between women and men in the private sector, enabling companies and economies to improve their performance. You can read more about work with the private sector here  tinyurl.com/2p8j8r5h  and  tinyurl.com/bdeuy6nn

      Expert: Priyanka Kolasa

      What real world initiatives can be instituted so that women can feel encouraged to join the workforce more in the societies where taboos and gender-based discrimination predominates the professional domains and workforce hierarchy?

      Tashfiya

      Thanks for your question. Indeed, social norms that encourage gender-based discrimination, restrictive laws and policies and time pressures constrain women’s participation in the workforce. Increasing women’s labor force participation requires interventions that address multiple barriers. Promising interventions include provide affordable childcare, parental leave and flexible workplace policies, providing safe and secure transportation, implementing anti-harassment interventions and providing jobs and skills training programs. This thematic policy note provides additional information on WBG’s approach for increasing female labor force participation:  tinyurl.com/yv7kb3kc

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      There is a further level to the glass ceiling added by AI - fake jobs are being increasingly posted to job boards to pad the volume. Is there any study being done to see how this affects women and how can this be combatted.

      June

      Thank you for this very interesting question! The rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence is affecting all sectors and changing the skills needed to succeed in the job market. In fact, AI is projected to impact nearly 40% of global employment. Research from PEW indicates that a larger share of women’s jobs will be affected by AI, largely because of the types of roles they occupy.

      This great blog from our Education colleagues might be of interest:  tinyurl.com/ywdwc62h

      Expert: Alicia S Hammond

      Education for the girl child is the most cost effective tool for accelerating gender equality and empowerment. Why is free and , functional education for the girl child not fully supported and funded in the developing countries apart from periodic declarations and statements of intentions

      Undelikwo

      Thank you for this important question. Quality education is essential to elevating girls’ human capital, reducing poverty and improving global outcomes. The World Bank is the largest external financier of education globally, and the largest investor in girls’ education. Our programs go beyond getting girls into school, they also ensure that they are able to learn and feel safe while in school, have the opportunity to complete all levels of education, acquire knowledge and skills to enter the labor market. For example, the East Africa Girls Empowerment and Resilience project supports over 2 million girls to remain in or return to school, the Nigeria Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment project addresses constraints to girls’ education and empowerment. This policy note provides more information on how we are supporting girls’ education:  tinyurl.com/3xrazcdu

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      How can we ensure that policies aimed at boosting women’s economic opportunities are effectively implemented across diverse global contexts to accelerate equality and contribute to sustainable development?

      Sabina Pradhan

      Thank you for the question. It is certainly true that context matters when identifying and promoting economic opportunities for women. The World Bank Group Gender Strategy will be implemented in line with its country-led engagement model, which recognizes that countries face heterogeneous challenges and have differences in policies and legal frameworks. This engagement model will help to provide robust data and analytics and enable knowledge and learning exchange with partners across the public and private sectors. You can read more about how the WBG will engage through its new gender strategy here:  tinyurl.com/2awn7rau

      Expert: Elizabeth Mensah

      Economic participation of women remains a challenge, The Women Economic Assembly aims to facilitate economic participation of women , through the supply chains of industry, I.e. being deliberate and targeted about creating opportunities for women owned business to be suppliers . What catalytic role can the World Bank play to facilitate this agenda.

      Futhi Mtoba, CO-Chair, Women Economic Assembly

      Thanks for the question. Indeed inclusive supply chains facilitate greater access to opportunities and to accelerate the growth of women entrepreneurs and enabling them to better participate in and benefit from economic opportunities throughout the value chain. This includes supporting the growth of women-owned/-led suppliers, distributors, and retailers, and investing in women’s employment and leadership across the supply chain. It also includes supporting low income and underserved individuals to access goods and services or integrate into supply chains as entrepreneurs. For example, IFC’s Sourcing2Equal Global Program seeks to connect thousands of women entrepreneurs to new market opportunities via corporate procurement:  tinyurl.com/47kxkk44

      Expert: Priyanka Kolasa

      How do we ensure that women and girls are financially literate, so that they are financially stable, if they ever are subjected to economic/financial abuse?

      A.D.A Against Domestic Abuse

      Tailored approaches are needed to increase women’s financial literacy and digital skills, expand their use of financial and digitally enabled services as well as improve their access to capital, networks, markets and entrepreneurial ecosystems To support financial institutions in addressing financial abuse, IFC recently launched 'Empower Finance' to share information and best practice and introduce the tools and solutions to better protect customers and financial institutions:  tinyurl.com/4wym6knc

      Expert: Priyanka Kolasa

      Why is there becoming a focus on norms when the laws and regulations do not provide a level playing field for women when it comes to basic rights, identification docs, financial services, education, etc. etc. Are leaders afraid of saying we need a level playing field?

      R

      Thanks for your question. Achieving gender equality requires us to address inequalities more holistically, and this includes understanding and addressing attitudes and social norms that perpetuate inequality, e.g harmful practices such as child marriage, female genital mutilation etc. Changing laws and policies to provide a level playing field for women is essential, however, they can only be effective if we also focus on interventions that change behaviors and attitudes. Social norms and laws go hand in hand – to successfully enforce legal frameworks, we need to also change social norms otherwise we might see a reversal of gender equality across different sectors. Our thematic policy note on social and gender norms may provide more insight on the role of norms in promoting gender equality:  tinyurl.com/yxbn6ek8

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      Gender issues have been there from as long as I can remember, even in my household when my grandfather would say this is a girl's job and not let the boy's clean kitchen utensils or take out the trash, etc.. I would say the problem stems from family values and should be corrected from there as girls always seem to be the lesser valued. Even in exchange of names because the male is the dominant figure. So, this carries on to the work environment. Please share your opinion on this. Thank you.

      Gillian Andrina Gregoria Polius

      Many thanks for your question. Achieving gender equality certainly has a personal dimension and requires changes to our personal lives, including changes to attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that are harmful to women.

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      How do we prevent Domestic Abuse, a crime that affects women, disproportionately and is rooted in gender inequality?

      A.D.A Against Domestic Abuse

      Thanks for this important question. Gender-based violence (GBV) is the most egregious manifestation of gender inequality, and the WBG Gender strategy aspires to end all forms of GBV. Addressing GBV requires collective action at the national and local level to challenge harmful gender norms, support GBV survivors, empower women and adolescents, and dismantle patriarchal systems. You may read more here to learn more on how we support GBV prevention and response in our operations:  tinyurl.com/2hfajb4c  and  tinyurl.com/5e6yx992

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      Good morning, there are so many social identities: gender, socio-economic groupings, disability etc. Is anyone looking at the intersection of these social identities? This is necessary because some social identities are more likely to coincide, for example, a disabled woman is more likely to be from a lower socio-economic group. So by including disabled women, we may be able to address poverty and impairments...as Ajay Banga might say walking...And chewing gum at the same time. I am a disabled woman, researching in the area of disabled women and climate change...please could you do your best to include disabled women who are best-placed to discuss issues pertaining to disabled women? Thank you, Elizabeth

      Elizabeth

      Thanks for this important question. Indeed, there is a strong intersection between gender and characteristics such as poverty, disability, and ethnicity. For example, only one-quarter of economies worldwide explicitly recognize the rights of women with disabilities. The WBG Gender Strategy recognizes that these intersections can heighten vulnerability, and reaffirms the WBG’s commitment to nondiscrimination, inclusion, and equality of opportunity. Achieving gender equality entails ensuring that all people, no matter their gender identity and characteristics, have equal rights and opportunities

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      In my opinion, it is important to rethink the creators of the digital divide as communities are now gradually becoming aware of the benefits of digitalization and digital inclusion. Thus social and cultural norms and barriers that traditionally inhibited women’s inclusion in digitalization is incrementally being broken down. I strongly believe technology itself is creating a new divide the is threatening to leave the unconnected and underserved further behind.

      Abena Nyamesem

      This is absolutely a warranted concern. Digital technologies are transforming economies, creating jobs, and improving lives. However, the digital divide remains sizeable and is increasingly linked to broader development gaps. For instance, the latest data from the ITU suggests that there are 244 million more men than women using the Internet.

      There’s also a considerable difference in internet use between low-income and wealthy countries. To address this, we need to focus on improving access to the internet, increasing smartphone and computer ownership, expanding fixed broadband availability, boosting internet speeds, and enhancing digital skills. It’s crucial to work on these areas to ensure everyone can benefit from digital technologies.

      Read more in the Digital Progress and Trends Report:  tinyurl.com/3whf2sp3

      Also, you might find IFC’s Digital2Equal program of interest:  tinyurl.com/47kxkk44

      Expert: Alicia S Hammond

      How and what can be done to bring gender equality?.

      Nko prudencia

      Thank you for this important question. Achieving gender equality and ensuring that nobody is left behind is a complex and challenging objective that requires the collective action of a wide range of stakeholders across the public and private sectors. Our new gender strategy prioritizes 3 strategic objectives that we believe will accelerate gender equality to end poverty on a livable planet. They are: (1) end gender-based violence and elevate human capital, (2) expand and enable economic opportunities, and (3) engage women as leaders. You can learn more about our gender strategy here:  tinyurl.com/2awn7rau

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      Why is it difficult most at times for women to be giving some top positions in the company or organization.

      Nko prudencia

      Thanks for your question. You’re right, there is a gender gap in women’s leadership in the public and private sectors. Globally, women hold only 5 percent of CEO, and 15.7 percent of CFO positions. There are several reasons that limit women’s professional aspirations and narrow leadership paths, including lack of training and professional development opportunities, gender biases and stereotypes, and other workforce barriers. Addressing women’s leadership will require proactive approaches to expand women’s participation in decision-making across the public and private sectors. To increase the number of women leaders and prepare them to take on leadership roles, companies and organizations must invest in women. The WBG is supporting women’s leadership, including through the IFC’s Women on Boards and in Business Leadership program. You can read more about increasing women’s representation in business leadership here:  tinyurl.com/37tex5w6

      Expert: Priyanka Kolasa

      How do we get Big Tech to take online safety seriously for users in the global south, a factor that has been proven to alienate instead of onboarding more women into digital platforms.

      Carol Ndosi

      Thank you for your important question! As more women come online, the risk of online violence unfortunately rises. The issue of technology-facilitated gender-based violence is not well-researched, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

      However, some promising approaches are emerging: To tackle this, countries in the Global South can collaborate with local communities to pinpoint specific online safety concerns. They can also include online safety training in digital literacy programs and explore policies to reduce technology-facilitated gender-based violence. Importantly, teaching healthy online behaviors is essential for everyone, not just women, to create a safer internet for all users.

      This brief from the World Bank’s Solutions for Youth Employment team provides a helpful overview of available data, key definitions, and promising solutions:  www.s4ye.org/node/4072

      Expert: Alicia S Hammond

      Ensuring that no woman is left behind in our pursuit of a livable planet requires a multifaceted approach. What specific strategies or initiatives do you think are most effective in achieving this goal?

      Lucky Taderera

      Thank you for this important question. Achieving gender equality and ensuring that nobody is left behind is a complex and challenging objective that requires the collective action of a wide range of stakeholders across the public and private sectors. Our new gender strategy prioritizes 3 strategic objectives that we believe will accelerate gender equality to end poverty on a livable planet. They are: (1) end gender-based violence and elevate human capital, (2) expand and enable economic opportunities, and (3) engage women as leaders. You can learn more about our gender strategy here:  tinyurl.com/2awn7rau

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      How can empowering women economically not only bridge the gender gap but also drive sustainable development and eradicate poverty on a global scale?

      Lucky Taderera

      Thank you for the question. We cannot end poverty on a livable planet when half the world’s population is excluded from opportunity. When women thrive, countries and communities thrive. Income per capita would be almost 20% higher if women were employed at the same rate as men. Women are also essential for driving inclusive and effective responses to climate change. Because they are disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis, they are at the forefront of developing climate solutions that address their needs and the needs of their communities. Women’s presence in local climate change responses is associated with better resource governance, conservation outcomes, and disaster readiness. Furthermore, women’s presence in leadership, including in government and in the private sector, is associated with better sustainability outcomes. In short, empowering women is critical to driving sustainable development, addressing climate change, and eradicating poverty. You can read more here:  tinyurl.com/4wj439ke  and here:  tinyurl.com/55sus8sp

      Expert: Elizabeth Mensah

      What measures have been implemented so that women do not have to neglect their careers because they are not compatible with their role as caregivers?

      Heromina

      Thanks for your question. Indeed, women’s labor force participation is significantly impacted by care responsibilities. Interventions to address care needs and improve women’s labor force participation may include: job-protected parental leave, access to quality and affordable childcare, paid family leave and employer-supported childcare and family-friendly workplace policies and practices.
      You can read more about the WBG’s approach to addressing care to accelerate gender equality:  tinyurl.com/mstxxmav

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      How does the world, filled with so many cultures form a uniformed law that doesn't undermine the role of woman in society. We know across certain cultures the woman is deemed subservient. This plays out in gender based violent crimes and how authorities respond to it? What is your views?

      Estelle Wadsworth

      Thanks for your question. Cultural and social norms around the world perpetuate stereotypes and biases that reinforce gender inequality. Achieving gender inequality will require changes to laws and policies, behaviors and norms, public and private sector activities, and personal lives. Measures to address harmful social norms include community outreach, working with men and boys to challenge masculinity stereotypes and introducing teaching and learning materials that tackle gender biases. Increasingly, our operations are addressing social norms in their operations. You can find out more on addressing social and gender norms to promote gender equality:  tinyurl.com/yxbn6ek8

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      How can women participate effectively with the poor educational and skill accusation support from their male parents (i.e. the Middle East, Africa, and other parts of the world)?

      Maisamari Mathias John

      Thanks for your question. Achieving gender equality requires everyone’s involvement. Involving fathers, male leaders and boys across the community can help reframe their perceptions and foster their support and buy-in for gender equality. Men and boys can play a critical role as champions to change attitudes about gender equality and address harmful masculinity.

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      I appreciate how you take time and resources to try to empower rural women. However l still feel the gap in trying to empower them seems unfruitful because they are not linked to the correct markets in selling their produce. technologically they are cut out from the reliality of how the economy will be operating also they have little or no esucation. How can this be solved because its been years these projects are carried out and the results are not clear.

      Violet

      Indeed, rural women often face unique challenges accessing economic opportunities. As part of the consultations for the WBG Gender Strategy, we heard from both urban and rural women about the challenges they face. The strategy promotes economic participation for all, recognizing that approaches will need to be fit for purpose depending on the context. In poor rural areas, for example, this might mean combining programs that support women’s productive economic participation and entrepreneurship and those that expand women’s ownership and control of land and smartphones, with access to safe transport and care services. These would be complemented by interventions to end GBV, enhance skills and SRHR, and engage women in community decision-making.
      You can read more about this here:  tinyurl.com/6zj64zbf  and here:  tinyurl.com/yeyyd2nf

      Expert: Elizabeth Mensah

      With the need to accelerate gender equality the question that begs to be answered is how to mitigate the effects of climate change that tip the scale to women being the group that is more disadvantaged, how do we empower the women and the community at large

      Euliana

      Indeed, women and disadvantaged groups are disproportionately impacted by climate change and gender gaps could widen in the context of the climate transition. This is because the sectors receiving the most climate capital and generating the most jobs, are also the sectors where women are least represented in the workforce and in leadership. This is not just bad for gender equality, it also prevents us from effectively managing the climate crisis and developing effective and inclusive solutions to address it. Women’s presence in local climate change responses is associated with better resource governance, conservation outcomes, and disaster readiness. Women’s presence in leadership, both in the public and private sector, is associated with better climate outcomes for governments and companies. This WBG thematic policy note provides more information on how we can place gender equality at the center of climate action: tinyurl.com/mry6r2p2
      This IFC discussion note talks about the potential and challenges of supporting women-led climate businesses:  tinyurl.com/thdb8act

      Expert: Priyanka Kolasa

      What is the system in place or methods of checking if the planned and implemented ways to promote the boosting women’s economic opportunities can transform our world, that have in previous similar methods work or not worked not in data but pragmatical in the field. If it actually works by checking on the progress of the women.

      RENNY

      Thanks for your question. The World Bank’s Gender Innovation Labs (GILs) conduct impact evaluations to assess the outcome of development interventions and generate evidence on how to close the gender gap in earnings, productivity, assets, and agency. You can find out more about GILs here:  tinyurl.com/3duvyv7x

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      What mesures will you put in place to boost women’s economic opportunities which can transform our world

      Alleria Bruce

      Thanks for your question. Indeed gender equality and women’s economic empowerment are essential for development and contribute to sustainability and resilience as well as to economic growth, productivity, and poverty reduction. The new WBG Gender strategy reflects a strategic objective on expanding and enabling economic opportunities through the public and private sectors. This includes addressing the nexus of access to more and better jobs, economic assets, and enabling services (such as care) that expand economic choice. You can read more about the WBG’s approach on expanding and enabling economic opportunities:  tinyurl.com/2awn7rau

      Expert: Priyanka Kolasa

      Can you comment on impact measurement and which, in your opinions, has been the most impactful program targeted to boosting women economic opportunities?

      josetche

      Thanks for your question. The World Bank’s Gender Innovation Labs conduct impact evaluations to assess the outcome of development interventions and generate evidence on how to close the gender gap in earnings, productivity, assets, and agency. You can find out more about GILs here:  tinyurl.com/3duvyv7x

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      What is the world Bank doing in terms financing women in digital inclusion

      Wirimo

      Thank you for your great question! The World Bank Group is actively working to promote digital inclusion. We focus on helping women and girls access and use the Internet and other digital services. We’re also committed to making sure that affordable devices and data are available to women, people with disabilities, young people, and more. Additionally, we support initiatives that improve digital literacy.
      It's crucial that both the public and private sectors work together to ensure digital technology meets the needs of women and helps empower them economically.

      You can read more about WBG’s approach to increasing access to technology for inclusion here:  tinyurl.com/3zffu2jk

      Expert: Alicia S Hammond

      It is a well-known adage that men often advance in their careers and businesses through the ‘old boys’ network. How can women effectively tap into these networks or create their own?

      Susan Dambudzo Martha Bvochora

      Supporting women’s employment and leadership is a cornerstone of the WBG Gender Strategy 2024-2030. For example, IFC works with private sector partners to create more and better opportunities for women to earn a livelihood, by enabling access to more and better jobs and leadership roles. IFC’s She WINS Arabia program has built the skills and networks of more than 80 women entrepreneurs and increased the capacity of fund managers and accelerators to target, support, train, and invest in women-led startups and enterprises. Another example of supporting women in leadership is MIGA’s flagship Gender Leadership Award (GLA). The GLA recognizes leaders who have worked with MIGA and who have shown a strong commitment to advancing women's empowerment and gender equality. You can read more about these efforts here  www.miga.org/gender,  here: tinyurl.com/37tex5w6 and here:  tinyurl.com/3mpxc9uy

      Expert: Elizabeth Mensah

      Kindly share more on the Cross-sectional relationship between gender and climate change

      Hilda Mahumucha legal Consultant Zimbabwe

      Many thanks for your question. Women and disadvantaged groups tend to be more affected by climate change across various dimensions, including health, livelihoods, and agency, and promoting sustainable development requires addressing both gender equality and climate change together. In addition to the disproportionate impact of climate change on women, women are also more likely to be left out of climate-related opportunities, for example access to new green jobs and access to climate finance to advance their businesses in more sustainable ways. Finally, women are important agents of change to develop and implement climate solutions that are effective and inclusive for their households and communities.
      You can read more here to learn how gender and climate change are linked:  tinyurl.com/mry6r2p2

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      How do we empower the girl child to be competitive and take up STEM courses?

      Sithandekile

      This is a great question—it is very important to support the participation of women and girls in STEM. Gender stereotypes and biases are especially strong drivers of gender gaps in STEM. To better support girls, there is a lot we can do: We can correct gender biases in learning materials and in the classroom; help expose girls to hands-on STEM extracurricular activities; and connect girls with female role models to build their self-efficacy, among many other solutions.

      This is a blog that provides a nice summary:  tinyurl.com/2mbvtejr
      Also an IFC study done with Coursera has some interesting findings about how to boost women’s participation in STEM courses online. Read about it here: :https://tinyurl.com/3bkway9c

      Expert: Alicia S Hammond

      how can we help advocating for gender equality in communities where there lack of access to financial resources?

      Sharon Chinkalamba

      Thanks for your question. Financial inclusion is integral to achieving gender equality and expanding women’s economic opportunities. In poor rural areas, achieving gender inequality could combine programs that support women’s entrepreneurship and those that expand women’s ownership and control of land, with improved access to safe transport and care services. These programs could also be complemented by interventions to end GBV, enhance skills, and engage women in community decision-making. The financial sector also recognizes that women form a valuable, large and growing market that presents significant economic opportunities. You can read more about the WBG’s approach to accelerating gender inequality:  tinyurl.com/2s3tp9xj  and  tinyurl.com/4hk4yhfa

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      Hi,I am Doris from Liberia. Thank you all so much have great interest in women.

      Doris Mamie Noltze Devine

      Hello Doris, thank you for joining our session, your participation is greatly appreciated!

      Moderator: Erick Rabemananoro

      Gender inequality still exist in South Africa how can this gab be closed?

      Thuli

      Thanks for your question. There has been significant progress around the world to address gender inequality, however, gender inequality still exists due to crises, conflict, and global trends such as climate change which exacerbates inequalities. Addressing gender inequality requires a strong commitment to changing laws and policies, social norms, public and private sector activities, and personal lives. You can read the WBG Gender Strategy to learn more on accelerating gender equality:  tinyurl.com/yeyyd2nf

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      What role does the World Bank play in influencing individual country policies? If the narrative changes from policy level it will then influence corporates and community structures.

      Kelebogile

      Many thanks for your question. Policies are essential to achieving gender equality. The World Bank engages in policy dialogue and supports countries to implement institutional and policy reforms that address gender constraints. Examples of the World Bank’s policy support include development policy operations to support GBV, reduce hiring discrimination, and improve women’s access to assets. The Albania Gender Equality in Access to Economic Opportunities DPF -  tinyurl.com/3htnrfbd  is an example of our support for policy reforms.

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      The most undoing in this global discourse are the women triple roles. How has thi been treated and what is the new thrust in this regard?

      Denford

      Women’s triple roles disproportionately impacts their time and ability to complete school, obtain paid work, and dedicate time to establish or grow businesses. The WBG is expanding access to quality, affordable childcare; improving girls' education, learning and empowerment; providing access to capital and better jobs; and investing in infrastructure, including access to water, sanitation, energy, transport, and healthcare to reduce the time spent on care responsibilities. The new WBG Gender Strategy responds to the global urgency, fundamentality, and complexity of achieving gender equality:  tinyurl.com/2hcehfyt

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      How does World Bank encourage third world countries to ensure access to skills & education now, especially with A1 taking the work space where most jobs are to be automated in workplaces?

      Maredi

      Ensuring that people in low and middle-income economies have the skills to participate fully and equitably in the digital economy is essential to inclusive development. This challenge has become even more urgent with the advances in artificial intelligence. Governments are formulating AI strategies to accelerate safe and inclusive AI adoption, with a focus on building infrastructure, developing advanced/specialized digital skills, and adopting AI solutions.

      Visit our Digital Progress and Trends Report (Chapter 5) for more details:  tinyurl.com/jx5cbxzs

      Expert: Alicia S Hammond

      Why women are being descrimite at work especially when they are the leaders?

      Vuyiswa Duma

      Thanks for your question. Harmful social norms, stereotypes and biases are can limit women’s professional aspirations and narrow leadership paths. To help address this, the new WBG Gender strategy reflects a strategic objective on engaging women as leaders in the public and private sectors. Through our operations, we support women’s participation in decision-making at the national and sub-national levels as well as in business leadership, and education and employment in male-dominated sectors such as energy and technology. You can read more on the WBG’s efforts on increasing women’s representation in business leadership:  tinyurl.com/37tex5w6

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      Lack of child care and lack of child support impeads economic benefits of working as most of ingle mothers income is spent on provision which impacts on their latter years. Single mothers get a negative credit ratings die to fathers not paying child support, paying less ot not on time. The impacts have dire consequences for women as they are unable to secure mortgages, rentals, credit and sometimes enjoyment.

      Felicity Guest

      Thanks for your question. Indeed, the lack of quality and affordable childcare impedes women’s economic participation and affects their overall well-being. Through our operations we are expanding access to quality, affordable childcare by leveraging existing community health or nutrition programs, and integrating childcare into entrepreneurship or skills training programs to create jobs for women, and supporting employer-supported childcare. You can read more on the WBG’s efforts to address care:  tinyurl.com/mstxxmav

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      Liberia is poor Country. SGBV is high, especially in concession communities, what will you advice to be a key inventions to implement considering Liberia's culture

      Cholo

      Addressing GBV requires collective action at the national and local level to challenge harmful gender norms, support GBV survivors, empower women and adolescents, and dismantle patriarchal systems. You may read more here to learn about how the World Bank Group supports GBV prevention and response in our operations:  tinyurl.com/2hfajb4c  and  tinyurl.com/5e6yx992

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      Remember you can send your questions through the live chat on this page. You can submit your questions in English, French, Spanish or Arabic. Our experts will answer your questions in real-time in this chat.

      Moderator: Erick Rabemananoro

      For further details, please check out the  World Bank Group gender Strategy

      Moderator: Erick Rabemananoro

      Feel free to explore the  International Finance Corporation (IFC) website  to learn about how we work with the private sector to accelerate equality

      Moderator: Erick Rabemananoro

      How do we ensure that we prepare men for empowered women. Men's insecurity is affecting women's capacity enhancement efforts and gains.

      Emmanuel Ssegawa

      This is a great question. Achieving gender equality requires everyone’s involvement. Men and boys can play a critical role as champions to change attitudes about gender equality and address harmful masculinity. Involving fathers, male leaders and boys across the community can help reframe their perceptions and foster their support and buy-in for gender equality.

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      In Somalia does the world Bank do toungible development projects specifically in Mogadishu

      Naima

      Thanks for your question. You can learn more about our projects and operations here:  projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/proj...

      Expert: Yasmine Acheampong

      How can women around the world contribute to changing the world without access to education, economic empowerment, and decision-making positions?

      AMIE

      The WBG Gender Strategy 2024-30 puts forward the bold ambition to accelerate gender equality to end poverty on a livable planet in alignment with the World Bank Group Evolution Roadmap. The strategy responds to the global urgency, fundamentality, and complexity of achieving gender equality. You can read more here:  tinyurl.com/yeyyd2nf

      Expert: Elizabeth Mensah

      Today, we’ve learned about scalable solutions that work and the World Bank’s new ambitious targets to help us get there - by ensuring that millions more women are equipped to use broadband internet, by supporting millions more women with social protection programs, and providing millions more women-led businesses with capital.
      These essential services will not only boost the well-being of women, but they will also contribute to the well-being of their families, their communities and their countries.
      Empower women, Empower humanity.

      Moderator: Erick Rabemananoro

      That brings us to the end of our event. Apologies for any questions we were not able to answer due to time constraints.

      Moderator: Erick Rabemananoro

      Thank you for joining us. And now, let’s get to work!

      Moderator: Erick Rabemananoro

      In your opinion...

      What do you see as the biggest barrier preventing women from entering the workforce?

      2024 Annual Meetings

      From October 21 to 26, 2024, global leaders, countries and civil society representatives gathered in Washington, D.C. for the 2024 IMF and World Bank Group Annual Meetings. Catch up on key announcements with the event replays and get the latest insights on:

      ➜ The Dynamics of the World Economy
      ➜ Progress towards Development Goals
      ➜ Innovative Sustainability Efforts

      Check the event recaps and use #WBGMeetings to join a global conversation.

      Speakers

      Moderator

      More to Explore

      Key Resources on Gender

      Blogs & Stories

      Previous IMF-WBG Annual & Spring Meetings