10th MIGA Gender Leadership Award

[Atia Byll-Cataria] Today is an amazing day for us. It’s our 10th anniversary of the Gender Leadership Award, and I’m so excited for everyone to be here. So, a very warm welcome to you. This, as I mentioned, really marks a special occasion for us because our Gender Leadership Award started back in 2016, and we have been blessed with having great recipients of this award who have been exemplary leaders on advancing gender equality. Today that is equally the case that we get to celebrate our 10th winner and we are also excited that our first winner is also here. I will start this event by introducing myself obviously my name is Atia Byll-Cataria. I’m the Head of Gender at MIGA. I’m very honored to also be today’s emcee and as I mentioned, given the 10th anniversary, I’m also one of the co-creators of this event so I’m doubly excited. As I mentioned also, we have our 10th recipient here, Loubna Ghaleb. She’s a Member of the Executive Board responsible for development and strategy, and Head of Projects and Financing at Tanger Med Group. In 2024, MIGA issued a guarantee to Tanger Med Port Authority as part of a joint MIGA and IFC project. As some of you may know, the recent World Bank Group’s Women in Transport report states that globally, women are underrepresented within this industry, comprising only 12% of transportation and storage workers. Therefore, Tanger Med’s impactful work accelerates progress by increasing female representation in leadership positions. This project supports engaging women as leaders, which is one of the main objectives of the World Bank Group’s gender strategy. Thank you Loubna for your work in helping to close this gap. I would also like to acknowledge the outstanding work of MIGA’s diversity, equity and inclusion advocates that we have here today. Garo, Angela, and Satish, and Victoria, who were very instrumental in the planning and delivery of this event. For today’s program we have an impressive list of speakers, starting with Hiroshi Matano, MIGA’s Executive Vice President, followed by our keynote speaker, Radi Anguelova, Vice President of Human Resources at the World Bank Group. After the presentation of this year’s award, we will have an inspiring panel discussion on equality at work, “A Decade of Accelerating Progress.” This event is being streamed in English and French on World Bank Live, so we welcome our online viewers, et bienvenue a tout le monde. If you would like to tweet about this event, we please ask you to use the hashtag #IWD2025. Please, find also headsets at your chair for translation, English 1 and French 2. I would now like to invite Hiroshi to give his remarks. Hiroshi, the floor is yours. [Applause] [Atia Byll-Cataria] Slight tweak. We’re going to show first a video exemplifying the work that’s been done by our wonderful leaders over the 10-year progress around of this Gender Leadership Award. Thank you.

[Video begins] [Speaker 1] Noah, congratulations. [Nourah Mehyar] Thank you. [Speaker 2] Helen Tarnoy. [Speaker 3] Julie Monaco. [Speaker 5] Lara De Mesa. [Speaker 6] Aïssata Béavogui. [Speaker 7] Audra Low. [Speaker 8] Lucy Heintz. [Speaker 9] Claudia Maria Gonzalez Arteaga. [Speaker 10] Ginette Borduas… [Keiko Honda] At that time, most of the private investors that we worked with were men. However, I saw some outstanding women. I wanted more people to recognize these women private investors and leaders. [Ginette Borduas] Gender equality is an uttermost critical issue for me. It is fundamental to human rights as it ensures a fair society where everyone has the same opportunities. [Nourah Mehyar] We have been working diligently to introduce and sustain women in nontraditional sectors like logistics. [Lara de Mesa] Wide range of perspectives leads to better decisions, a stronger business and more inclusive communities. [Lucy Heintz] A diverse and inclusive culture enables people to give of their best and talent to flourish. [Aïssata S. Béavogui] When women lead, they drive with an inclusion mindset. [Audra Low] It is not just about men or women. It’s about unlocking the full potential of every individual. [Lara de Mesa] Let’s keep working towards a future where the best talent thrives. [Claudia María González Arteaga] The recognition of gender equality today is the result of the work and perseverance of several generations of women who have developed their capabilities and built up their strengths to contribute to the growth of society. [Julie Monaco] I do believe that when we achieve gender equality and we have women in positions of leadership across government, across business, we will achieve that sustainable development goal of peace and prosperity and sustainability. [Nourah Mehyar] Your recognition has motivated me to continue this effort. [Audra Low] Thank you for paving the way toward a future where equality isn’t just an ideal, but a reality. [Keiko Honda] Congratulations to MIGA and the World Bank Group on the 10th anniversary of MIGA Gender Leadership Award. [Award Recipients] Let’s accelerate gender equality! [Video ends] [Applause]

[Hiroshi Matano] That was a very nice video and thank you for the team for providing this. It is impressive to see so many wonderful leaders, women leaders making a difference in this challenging world. So, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning and happy International Women’s Day. We are excited to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Gender Leadership Award. I want to give a big shout out to all of the previous winners. As you saw in the video, our past winners have greatly contributed to advancing women leadership in the corporate and private sector. I’m also delighted to welcome Nourah Mehyar, CEO of Nafith Logistics. She was the very first winner of the award and continues to lead and inspire the next generation of women leaders around the world. This award recognizes the remarkable achievement of women in the leadership role. On behalf of MIGA and the World Bank Group, I want to congratulate Loubna Ghaleb of Tanger Med Group for winning this year’s award. She is a great leader, trusted MIGA partner who supports women to take up leadership roles in the corporate world. She was a driving force behind millions of dollars of support from MIGA and IFC to Tanger Med Port which is emerging as a regional port hub in North Africa. Where women and girls can reach their full potential, they transform society by creating jobs and driving economic growth. As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we are mindful of the significant gap that exists between men and women in jobs. I’m also proud to report that 55% of MIGA workforce is female. 50% of our senior leadership positions are held by women who are working tirelessly to support women’s leadership worldwide. One of the root causes of poverty among women is the lack of employment. The most effective way to defeat poverty is by creating jobs. The World Bank Group is focused on job creation and employment as a critical, important undertaking. A stable job not only empowers women but also gives her a sense of dignity and ultimately helps build better and healthier communities. Women-owned micro, small, medium enterprises account for 23% of all SMEs by representing 32% of the 5 trillion SME financing gap. Small business in the private sector account for 70% of global employment and they need support from governments and MDBs to generate employment opportunities. MIGA projects are supporting women to access capital so they are better equipped to seize opportunities whether through entrepreneurship, job creation or setting up into leadership roles. The World Bank Group Guarantee Platform which we announced in October 2023 is leveraging available instruments to help the private sector invest in the developing economies. Since we launched the guarantee platform in July 2024, we have seen a 23% increase in World Bank Group guarantee business. In the first half of the current fiscal year, MIGA had eight gender focused projects, as many as we had in the fiscal year ‘24. In fiscal year ‘24, MIGA gender focused projects amounted to 588 million, while in the current fiscal year they have reached 3.3 billion so far. In fiscal year ‘25, MIGA supported financial institution clients have already committed 665 million to women and women owned businesses, bringing the total client commitment since 2021 in this segment to over 1.7 billion. I hope to see a day when we have erased the gap in opportunities and economic disparities between men and women, but until then, we must continue working together to create opportunities for women and girls worldwide. Thank you for being here today to celebrate the achievement of women leaders. Thank you. [Applause]

[Atia Byll-Cataria] Thank you, Hiroshi. I would now like to introduce Radi Anguelova for her keynote remarks. Thank you. [Applause]

[Radi Anguelova] Good morning. And thank you for inviting me to join you for MIGA’s 10th Gender Leadership Award ceremony. It is an absolute pleasure to be here to recognize Loubna Ghaleb, a World Bank Group partner who has demonstrated her unwavering commitment to advancing opportunities for women in the workplace. This commitment is one we deeply share at the World Bank Group. It is a real honor to stand before you today as we celebrate leadership, inclusivity and progress. As a Vice President of Human Resources, I have had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the critical role that gender leadership plays in shaping organizations and societies. Women’s economic participation is a game changer. When women and girls can reach their full potential, they transform societies, creating jobs and driving economic growth. When women thrive, countries and communities thrive, but there are still challenges to overcome. Expanding economic opportunities require education, skills and successful school-to-work transition. Yet over 100 million girls worldwide, particularly in low income and conflict affected regions, are out of school, and those in school often face barriers in transitioning to higher education, especially in STEM fields. When women have access to economic assets, capital and enabling services such as digital services, they are better equipped to seize opportunities. Yet evidence suggests that women-owned micro, small, and medium sized enterprises struggle more for the financing they need to grow. Ensuring women’s safety at home, at work, and in public spaces is essential for unlocking their full economic potential. Yet gender-based violence is spiking in alarming fashion due to fragility, forced displacement, and crises. The World Bank Group is scaling solutions to help more women secure productive jobs and drive entrepreneurship, creating opportunities for themselves and others. To this end, we’re focused on elevating women’s human capital, ending violence against women and girls, expanding their economic opportunities and engaging more women as leaders. By 2030, our programs will support 300 million more women in using broadband Internet, 80 million more women in women-led businesses in securing capital, 250 million women in benefiting from social protection programs that enable workforce participation. We will also be supporting millions more women with access to better education and using financial services. The World Bank Group is also laser focused on tackling the global jobs challenge in the coming years. We understand that creating jobs and opening opportunities for work is the most effective way to defeat poverty. Moreover, jobs are key for empowering women. To create jobs and end poverty, we must unleash the potential of women. Closing the gender gap in employment could add up to 12 trillion dollars to the global GDP, an increase of up to 20%. And it is through partnerships like the one we have with Tanger Med Group and leaders like Ms. Ghaleb that we can see the impact of our work focused on gender equality. Internally, we are committed to ensuring that our institution is future ready and provides opportunities for all, to unleash their talents and thrive in pursuit of our development mission. I’m proud to say that as a reflection of our commitment, we have been certified through the Equity, Diversity and Gender Equality, EDGE process since 2016. In 2022 we achieved the second level of certification EDGE Move and we were recertified again this year. This external benchmark is one of many ways we hold ourselves accountable for ensuring that the World Bank Group is the best place to work in development for both, women and men. We have been tracking our progress on gender for over 25 years and have always been committed to full transparency. Five years ago, we made our data fully available to staff through a new internal gender dashboard. Anyone in our institution can see and measure gender progress for their team, unit, region or country for the past 10 years. The data shows significant progress. Let me share a few highlights, but first I must stress that gender leadership is not just a conversation about representation, it is a movement toward meaningful change. Studies show that organizations that embrace gender diversity at leadership levels are more innovative, profitable and resilient. We continue to pursue our key goal of reaching gender parity in our workforce. The trend of women managers in the World Bank Group has consistently increased for eight of the last 10 years from about one third to near parity today at 45%, this is one of the highest percentages among our peer international financial institutions. The percentage dropped only during the peak of COVID which affected the whole world similarly. The World Bank Group quickly corrected the drop and currently fares better than most institutions. The World Bank has women in key senior leadership roles that are often held by men in other organizations. These include our Managing Director of Operations Anna Bjerde, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer Anshula Kant, Vice President and Chief Information Officer Amy Doherty, Vice President and Controller Pamela O’Connell, Vice President and Auditor General Anke D’Angelo. There can be no doubt that the women in these positions with the expertise and experience they bring, make our institution better, stronger and more dynamic. While the World Bank Group has made a remarkable progress, we know there is more we can do toward our goal of gender parity. We remain steadfast in our efforts and ambitions of creating an inclusive workplace where everyone can contribute to the best of their abilities and have opportunities to build meaningful careers in a service of a noble mission. Let me close by once more congratulating today’s award recipient Ms. Loubna Ghaleb. Your contributions are shaping the future. Your courage to lead, to challenge and to innovate is making a profound impact. Thank you for being a role model for all of us. I’m excited to hear more today about the efforts of Tanger Med and Ms. Ghaleb’s incredible contributions toward promoting women in the workplace. Congratulations on your well-deserved recognition today, Ms. Ghaleb. As we celebrate, let us remember that progress is a shared responsibility. Each of us has a role to play in advocating for gender equity, whether through mentorship, policy reform, or simply by amplifying voices that need to be heard. And a big thank you to the organizers for today’s inspiring event. Thank you. [Applause]

[Atia Byll-Cataria] Thank you, Radi, for your compelling and insightful words, which provide us all with a strong reminder about the role girls and women can play to transform societies and spur economic development, especially if given access to quality jobs and capital. Before we present the award to Loubna, please join us in watching a short video highlighting Loubna’s achievements through her work with Tanger Med. Afterwards, Hiroshi will present this year’s award to Loubna, who will then deliver her remarks. Thank you. Oh, please also note, as I mentioned earlier, your headsets are on your chair. If you wish to listen to this in English and we have, you have to plug it in, settings 1 and 2 for the language that you wish to listen to, I believe one is English and two is French. Thank you.

[Video begins] [Loubna Ghaleb] It is important to me that my career path is not only a personal accomplishment, but it is also a demonstration. Every challenge is an opportunity for me to demonstrate to all female talents that paths to success are possible and that female role models of success exist. I had the opportunity to join Tanger Med in 2005 and I was part of the first teams to have worked on this major project. Tanger Med has established itself as a transformation engine for Morocco. It has become a world-class logistics and industrial platform. The daily participation in the development of the project Tanger Med and its many successes constitute a source of pride for all employees. My interest in the infrastructure sector and logistics goes back to my studies as a civil engineer. I have always been attracted by infrastructure projects and their assembly, their structuring and their impact on economic development. Working in logistics and infrastructure allows you to take on exciting challenges and actively participate in the transformation of the country. It is this dynamic that motivated me and that continues to motivate me to evolve in this field. One of the main challenges has been dealing with stereotypes. I sometimes had to prove my competence, my legitimacy in environments where positions of responsibility were mostly occupied by men. Now, these challenges have also been opportunities to demonstrate my determination, my rigor and my expertise. I learned to face these obstacles by focusing on my skills and by seeking to have a concrete impact in each of the projects I participated in. [Ghita Abdelmoula] I will always remember my first meeting with Loubna. I was inspired by a number of things. The clarity of her words, the perfect mastery and precision of a large number of subjects. She shares her time, shares her experience, mentors, and above all gives valuable feedback which allows female talents to grow within the organization. [Loubna Ghaleb] Gender equality in the workplace and especially in male-dominated sectors is not simply a question of social justice, but of competence and merit. When we promote equality, we ensure that it is skills, ideas and performance that determine success, not gender. [Ghita Abdelmoula] We have made a commitment to exceed 20% of women manager s by 2030 at our port and logistics hub. Loubna is a major sponsor of our policy of diversity and promotion of women. Her trajectory within the group is an example of success and resilience. [Loubna Ghaleb] In a sector like logistics or infrastructure which are traditionally dominated by men, the inclusion of women enables the expansion of the talent pool. By integrating women at all levels and particularly in strategic positions, we make sure that the best skills are expressed, whether they come from men or women. [Video ends] [Applause]

[Loubna Ghaleb] Good morning, everyone. Dear Mr. Matano, the MIGA team, IFC, World Bank, dear audience, I’m proud and honored to receive this award. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to MIGA for this recognition which highlights the inspiring stories of women around the world. Being a woman today means carrying the strength of history while embracing the spirit of renewal. My country, Morocco, has made remarkable progress in ensuring equal opportunities empowering women and recognizing their role all across the fields. These achievements are not just milestones, but the product of unwavering commitment, political will and determination of women who have broken true barriers and excelled in their fields. Today, Moroccan women are making their mark in science, business, politics, arts, innovation and many other highly valuable sectors. At Tanger Med I’ve had the privilege to witness and contribute to this journey of inclusion and the acknowledgment of women’s talents. Our commitment to gender parity is not just a slogan, but a reality we actively pursue with clear, measurable goals. Last year, we almost achieved parity in recruitment, increasing the percentage of women within the group from 30% to over 50%. 30% of our women are represented in the board of Tanger Med and with an objective to raise that level to 40%. It’s not an objective, it’s a commitment to raise that level to 40% by 2027. Gender equality is not a matter of rights. It is a question of performance and development. The diversity of talent and perspective is an important asset that allows us all to make better decisions, innovate and ensure sustainable growth. At Tanger Med, we have turned this belief into reality by encouraging women’s access to strategic position, connecting them with influential networks and providing them with monitoring and professional development opportunities. Today, women of Tanger Med Group hold key position in highly specialized fields, such as maritime and port operation, freight flow coordination, technology and engineering. This is a commitment that pushes us to overcome the challenges, both visible and invisible that still limits women’s access to leadership positions. My role at Tanger Med goes beyond my professional responsibilities. As a woman, a leader and a mother to a 10-year-old son, I’ve always sought to lead by example, proving that no ceiling, no glass ceiling is unbreakable. Every experience, every challenge and every success is an opportunity to inspire and support other women on their path to achievement. I have learned that unconscious biases exist and that self-censorship is real, but I also realized that together we can dismantle these barriers and pave the way for a generation of women leaders. Beyond my personal journey, this award also represents the core values I cherish the most, meritocracy, excellence and perseverance. These principles have been the guiding light throughout my career and I believe they should continue to inspire the future generation. While we have made important progress, there is still work to be done to ensure that every woman has freedom and opportunity to realize her full potential. Receiving this award today is a recognition of the progress made, but also a call to continue the effort. Every woman that succeeds inspires others to believe in themselves, to aim higher, and to build a better future. Last but not least, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my mentor, Mr. Fouad Brini, Chairman of Tanger Med. Your visionary leadership and steadfast commitment toward gender equality have been crucial pillars in our journey. Thank you for believing in the capabilities of women and for supporting our ambition to foster inclusion. Thank you. [Applause]

[Atia Byll-Cataria] Thank you Loubna for speaking to how constraints can turn into opportunities if an enabling environment exists, especially one that promotes female employment, participation, and leadership, and in your case, in a traditionally male-dominated sector. I now would like to invite all panel members to join us on stage. I would like to hand over our panel to our moderator Ariane Di Iorio, Director of the Financial Institutions Group at MIGA and invite our panelists to take the stage. Thank you. [Applause]

[Ariane Di Iorio] Good morning, everyone. I’m going to introduce our panelists today. I think that by now we don’t need to introduce Loubna again. Loubna, congratulations. But I’ll do make a brief introduction of Nourah, which was our first Gender Award winner. Nourah Mehyar is the co-founder and Group CEO of Nafith International Group. Since she co-founded the company in 2006, under her leadership the trade facilitation company was transformed from a single operation into a leading national logistics provider with PPP projects spanning Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and Oman with subsidiaries in Dubai and Germany. She was our first Gender Award winner and for her work in integrating women in again another male-dominated workforce, and in an area where gender parity is close to nonexistent. Furthermore, Nourah serves on several professional boards and actively contributes to global advisory groups on gender and state fragility. Welcome, Nourah. Hela Cheikhrouhou. Hela is IFC’s Regional Vice President for Middle East, Central Asia, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan. She has held leadership roles over time across Africa, Asia and Latin America. She had previously served as the Minister of Energy and Mining of Tunisia, as the founding Executive Director of the Global Green Climate Fund and as Director of Energy, Environment and Climate Change at the African Development Bank. Welcome, Hela. Maria Marcela Silva. Maria Marcela Silva is the Regional Director for Infrastructure in the Latin American and Caribbean region at the World Bank, responsible for providing strategic vision and direction for the infrastructure program in the region. Before joining the Bank, she worked for the Colombian government and at the infrastructure unit of the National Planning Department. Welcome, our dear panelists. I’m going to start actually with Loubna. Loubna, as we watched, you mentioned that there are three key roles to demonstrate leadership in corporations to actually… Sorry, to help women in the environment of a corporation which are demonstrate, sensitize and mentor. Could you elaborate on this a bit more and particularly on the mentoring that you and other women in management provide to women at their early stage in the career development.

[Loubna Ghaleb] Thank you, Ariane. Yes, to promote gender parity there are three key actions that we have to consider. The first one is to demonstrate, to lead by example. If I did it, others can do it. And each success is a source of inspiration for other women who are earlier in their careers. This is the first one. The second one is to raise awareness, is to promote a workplace culture of respect and collaboration where stereotypes are eliminated and each voice is heard. And the third one is actually mentoring, which is, from my point of view, the most important part. It’s the most impactful, I mean action, that we have to consider. For me, mentoring is giving, is providing guidance, help and advice for women that are navigating maybe the same challenges that I have faced. It means sharing with them my experience, whether it’s success or setbacks. It’s also helping them expand their networks, helping them develop their skills, helping them gain confidence, to gain confidence to have more responsibility. So, this is the first, and the second point. But beyond giving this advice and this help, I think mentoring is also being an advocate for women. For instance, I make it a point to show their visibility in workplace. I also show the visibility, nominate them in some projects and also helping them size some opportunities that can be overlooked. I mean for me mentoring is an ongoing relationship, and over time it can have a transformative impact on careers, on women’s career paths, confidence and sense of purpose.

[Ariane Di Iorio] Thank you. So, Nourah, 10 years have passed, right? In such a male-dominant environment that you work, what do you see as a difference between 10 years ago to today? Did you see improvements in access for jobs for women, and also if they were able to grow in their jobs? I mean, it’ll be great to hear your views.

[Nourah Mehyar] Thank you, Ariane. And again, congratulations Loubna for the award. I must thank MIGA actually for keeping this award alive. I can’t believe it has been 10 years already. To be honest, I feel 10 years older and it’s a nice reminder that 10 years have passed, but what have we seen in the past 10 years? I think, you know, it took me some time to think about this, and really, I think we can, for me, we can place it in three elements. One, we have seen more women actually participate in the workforce, especially in male-dominated industries. It differs from one community to the other, and in the communities that we work in, especially around the areas of ports and trucking and so on, we have seen more women participate. The main reason behind that, I would agree with something Loubna said, that it is actually creating predecessors of success. So, the more successful stories we have, the more we are able to push women to actually, from the beginning to start actually coming to this job, applying to this job, removing a lot of the misconceptions that are related around women working in male-dominated industries. I think this is key. The second point I have seen in the past 10 years, a lot of policy reforms that happened. This has been on company levels and also on government levels in the communities that we work in, especially work that has been done on labor laws in several of these countries and creating the framework of diversity and inclusion in a lot of the companies and pushing actually for that. The third main contributor, I would say it is the role of the DFIs in these communities. I would really like to thank the World Bank and all of its members, group members, for the work they have done in pushing this agenda forward. You know, things like investing with the gender lens, all of the training programs that have been done in these communities, and more importantly, actually, which I think, Atia, you mentioned the KPIs and the dashboards that are available that can give us a real insight on how the progress has been done. While I think we realize that the progress maybe is not as fast as a lot of us would like to see, then some numbers in certain communities are still away from the numbers that we are all looking for. But I think the past 10 years have put a really solid foundation that companies and communities alike can actually depend on that to move forward in the next decade. Let’s see in 10 years from now what we will be saying about gender and the inclusion and participation of women in male-dominated industries. Thank you.

[Ariane Di Iorio] Thank you. It is actually massive progress. It’s interesting when we think about male-dominated industries because the financial sector is one of it as well. I used to work in an institution that I was the only woman in a team of 20 plus. This was 20 something years ago, but it’s changing gradually. Marcela, let’s talk about us a bit. What do you think about how more effective leaders can be in promoting gender equality in large corporations such as the World Bank Group?

[Maria Marcela Silva] Thank you and many thanks for the invitation. Once again, congratulations Loubna, for all the fantastic work that you have been doing and promoting gender equality and bringing more women into this infrastructure space. To your question, I believe that leadership plays a fundamental role in advancing gender equality in institutions like the World Bank Group. The organization has been walking the talk and has been promoting the importance of having a more diverse workforce, providing the evidence of the positive impacts that this has on our productivity and our effectiveness, implementing actionable plans and steps, and also monitoring the outcomes and the effectiveness of these measures. I come from the transport sector, again one that was naturally or is naturally male-dominated. And 10 years ago, when I started looking at this issue, when we started looking at this issue in the Transport Global Practice, the data showed that more than 70% of our workforce, our staff, were men. Women occupied the lower grades and were younger in our practice, very few in the senior or even the managerial roles. We also saw that women took longer to advance in their careers, to get promotions. Possibly this because we also observed that men had responsibilities that were more impactful, they were responsible for projects that were more complex, more visible, bigger, while women had less visible roles, like activities that were a little bit less conducive to get visibility. And so, one of the most rewarding things or experiences as a manager that I have in the Bank is to promote diversity and inclusion within the transport sector, and under the exceptional leadership of my Director at the time, José Luis Irigoyen, our Vice President, and the continued and fierce full sponsorship and leadership of our VP’s and our leadership team. This has been really a game changer. We had, at the time, we started by exploring all the available research on the value of diversity, invited researchers and speakers to discuss the topic, to provide the evidence, to provide the data, developed an action plan and started its implementation with the understanding that diversity and inclusion is not about ticking a box or filling some quotas, but the understanding that this is a necessity to enhance the performance of our teams, to enhance the institutional effectiveness, and achieve better and more significant and sustainable outcomes in what we do in our mission. Today, I think, and I see one here, our VP, who is a leader, still very much pushing this agenda, we have a significant change in the diversity composition of the Transport Global Practice. More of 40% of our staff now is our women. We have a much better distribution among grades in the practice, and we have reached parity at managerial levels, which is not a minor thing. I think that these are the sort of things that makes us very proud in our institution. There is still a gap, yes, but there is significant progress and I think that we should be very happy about that. My point is that achieving gender equality and diversity on the workforce does not happen overnight. It requires intentional leadership actions across several dimensions. We need to continue on that path. Thank you.

[Ariane Di Iorio] Thank you, Marcela. Hela, considering your extensive global experience, both in the private sector, in development as well, how does women’s empowerment contribute to broader development goals?

[Hela Cheikhrouhou] Thank you. It’s always great to be the last because everything has already been said. So, there is no doubt in my mind, and data shows it, that when you have a diverse leadership, a diverse workforce, the economy will perform better. Having said that, I think I will build on one of the words that was just mentioned, which is intentionality. The ability of women’s empowerment to progress and to do the good it is able to do requires intentionality, and it requires that we, as development finance institutions, when engaging with our client countries and our client businesses, identify those champions and those practices that work well for allowing women to reach their potential and remove obstacles and ways that they are being suppressed is very important. In that regard, countries and policymakers who have identified this as a valuable way to proceed have been able to do so through either having laws against discrimination in pay, like the UAE, countries that have introduced some equality practice frameworks to guide the HR practices like KA.DER, the Turkish women association, introduced, and countries that have found ways to open up the education system, including STEM for women and let the talent evolve, which have done well now on talent in tertiary education in many of the countries I work on, for instance, but then follow suit in the career path. And that was very well covered by previous speakers, how you get there in terms of networking, in terms of mentorship, in terms of dashboard KPIs even within the World Bank Group, KPIs really help to make sure we don’t slip up on that. Let me pause there and see if you have follow-up questions

[Ariane Di Iorio] Thank you, Hela, that’s great. I’m going to actually go back to Loubna. Loubna, let’s go back to the focus of equality at work. You have a brilliant career, very successful, based in meritocracy. So, you think about your organization, do you still think that there is a, I don’t like using this word, but this truth is the “ceiling” that gender would impose on women?

[Loubna Ghaleb] Well, first of all, thank you for this insightful question. While my journey, of course, has been shaped by determination, knowledge and commitment to excellence, I also recognize that the organization’s commitment toward gender equality has enabled this success. There have been significant advancements towards gender parity in our organization, to have a women leadership position and an inclusive workplace culture. This has reflected on the increasing number of women that are taking on strategic roles in Tanger Med. You have said this before on a historically traditionally male-dominated sectors. So, today, and I have talked about it in my speech, we have women taking leading positions in port operations, in maritime operations, in technology, in many sectors, high qualified sectors. So, this suggests… Sorry, that the barriers are cracking. However, because unfortunately there is a “however;” however, there are still some biases whether conscious or unconscious, that still exists. In some companies and in some sectors, women have to face challenges working through the leadership, the highest level of leadership. While the ceiling is cracking, full gender parity is retained, it requires sustained efforts. So, this is why in Tanger Med, we have set up concrete steps, we have spoken about it, through mentoring programs, through also leadership trainings, through many other initiatives, to foster an environment where capabilities, abilities and contribution outweigh any gender consideration.

[Ariane Di Iorio] Thank you. Good to know, especially, again on the male-dominant industry. Well Nourah, back to Nafith. So, given your space, how has Nafith promoted the empowerment of women and progression in your projects, but also has this impacted the communities that you operate?

[Nourah Mehyar] Well, you know, since the get go when Nafith started, being a woman-led business, we had the issue of gender and gender equality in the forefront of our thinking. Couple that with, you know, having other co-founders and board members that also believe in women, and women diversity helped a lot. We participated in many World Bank Group projects. A lot of them were mentioned today to actually create the correct framework for us to be able to move forward. But you know Ariane, the thing was we haven’t been seeing the numbers. So, we had everything, we had the support from the upper management, from the shareholders, from the co-founders, we’re pushing everything, but we haven’t seen the numbers. So, we had to go back and think. We had to actually start from different aspects. One aspect we decided to start with, or a strategy we adopted was that we needed to start actually from the recruitment phase early on, as early as possible. So, we collaborated with several universities to do internship programs for women to actually get them because getting them is as hard as keeping them in male-dominated industries because they don’t want to apply. We had a huge issue with women applying for our jobs. We wanted women, but they were not applying. So, what we did is we started working with the universities and the local communities to create internship programs to actually get them in. Once they are in, we had removed a lot of the misconceptions that were there around working in logistics and working in male-dominated industries. Our numbers show that once they were there as an intern, more easily they become an employee and then they go up the ladder of employment. That was one of the initiatives that we had taken, but then we also were hit with another challenge which was mentioned here. With all of the buy in from all of the management and so on, we realized the disease, I will call it a disease because it’s a subconscious bias that was mentioned that people, without thinking they were being biased, coming, whether it’s from the community, from the upbringing, from the environment. We had to continuously talk about women inclusion, and we created our own diversity ambassadors. They were both, men and women, and they were present in a lot of the activities that we had done, especially HR related committees. So, they were there from recruitment to evaluations and so on. We always had a gender ambassador present. Because this created… And we have seen that with women when they go into these committees, they are not as confident, they are not as… They are strong, but when they are presented, then they lose. Somewhere along the line something is lost. So, we have tried to create this environment where it is safe for them to talk and feel comfortable to talk about their accomplishments. Another strategy I really like to mention is creating a very clear grievance policy. Very, very, very, and I would say another very clear communication channel, especially when it comes to harassment issues, making sure that your voice is heard in confidence. This is a message that we sent across our organization. You’re always heard, please, come up and talk about if you’re having any issues. I think also I’ll mention one last strategy because I think it’s very important is, actually, we took gender KPIs and put it as part of the management evaluation, performance evaluation. So, now it is something inherently that everybody thinks of all the time, that I have to think of more diversity, more inclusion in a practical sense. I mean, with all of these steps, slowly but surely, we’re getting more women in our workforce. In certain communities, we are becoming a preferred employer of choice. For me, that is really a badge of honor because somebody has mentioned this, this is a long process that we need to keep at it. It’s all about persistence. Thank you.

[Ariane Di Iorio] Thank you, Nourah. Shifting back to the Bank, to home. Marcela, what’s your vision for the future regarding gender equality and women’s empowerment at the Bank?

[Maria Marcela Silva] Well, to continue to do more, that’s in the bottom line, but as I said, I would like to reiterate that I believe that we have come a long way, and I think that this is very important for an organization like ours that serves so many different countries and engages with clients that come from very different cultural backgrounds, history, race, religions, needs, and so on. Having a diverse workforce is very important for us to be very effective when we communicate and when we engage with these very diverse communities. Addressing the most pressing needs and improving the wellbeing of the people living in these countries, of which 50% are women, is our mission. So, for that, for us to be effective, we need to continue, as I said before, being intentional, to bring the best and the most qualified professionals that bring a wide variety of perspectives, backgrounds, skill sets, so that we can really deliver on that mission. Why does that matter? If you take the infrastructure sector as an example, we know that infrastructure is not gender neutral and that women experience infrastructure, services or the lack thereof in a very different way than men do. So, having women perspectives while planning, designing, and supporting the implementation of the projects that we finance is very important to meaningfully address women’s needs, to improve their access to jobs, to economic opportunities, to services, and to boost economic development in general. Because if 50% of the population does better, the economies will do better. So, by bringing more prominently women’s perspectives, we are promoting more gendered approaches in the design of our operations and along four, let’s say, very clear dimensions. When we think about the projects that we support and we finance, we are thinking about women as users or beneficiaries of the infrastructure projects and services. Looking at how an infrastructure project can help women improve their mobility, for example, reduce the time that they spend traveling and doing so in a safer way, so that they are actually inclined to leave their house to go to look for a job. The way that reducing the time that they spend in the household chores with, let’s say, access to electricity, so that cooking and the actual domestic jobs are easy, they have access to clean cooking. We can reduce the digital divide and help them access affordable Internet and devices, and skills to use the Internet to access more remote opportunities, access to finance, affordable housing, and so on. All of this so that we can help them to gain voice and agency and reach out for better jobs and better economic opportunities. That’s one. The second one that we look at is women as part of the workforce in these very interesting sectors. Looking at how to generate, as it was mentioned before, incentives for women to enter careers in the STEM path, supporting scholarship programs, internships, job fairs and so, and so on. These type of partnerships with universities and so on. Seeking to increase women participation and promotion of women owned businesses in the infrastructure sector. Promoting the training of women, for example, as heavy machine operators, of bus operators, in the maintenance of roads or in the maintenance of solar power panels, etcetera. So, that part of the women getting into the labor force in our infrastructure sector. The third one is women in leadership, planning. and regulation, so that in the agencies that we work with, so that there is more influence in the decision-making process catering to the specific needs of women. And last but not least, empowering women and girls as a measure to prevent and address the risk of sexual exploitation, and abuse, and sexual harassment. So going forward, we need to maintain this intentionality and continue focusing on three aspects that you mentioned very clearly. One is on attracting and recruiting outstanding candidates from diverse backgrounds and underrepresented groups. We need to go the extra mile, make sure that we have a wide audience and people get interested and apply. Sometimes women do not apply. And so, we have to do extra steps to do those, ensuring diversity in selection panels and so on, so that we really attract the most qualified candidates. The second part is also on focusing on activities that we need to do to retain that staff because sometimes it’s not easy to work in an environment like ours for women. And so, what type of thing can we bring to the table so that women get more access to opportunities? There is a creation of a future pipeline of leaders. Here, we are encouraging women to lean in, to move out of their comfort zones, to do lateral moves, to move into different positions, go to the country, come back, so that they are more fungible and gain more experience, get bigger networks, bigger knowledge and so on. And the last one is, as I said before, ensuring that there is equal access to opportunities, to challenging and rewarding tasks that bring visibility and at the end of the day that will help them increase the chances of moving upwards in the Bank. Thank you.

[Ariane Di Iorio] Thank you, Marcela. I don’t know, Hela. Looks a bit like you want to add something to what Marcela is saying. But it’s interesting when you hear the three perspectives, because thinking about gender, I liked what you said, Marcela, non-gender, neutral sectors, right? But that’s something that comes across like you never think about it, but looking at the goal of one day not needing an award for gender equality. You think about, in the end we are all human beings. We should not think about those gendered, non-gender, neutral sectors. But thank you for the insights. Hela, going back to the more macro view of gender inclusion. Access to finance, it is still a problem not only for women, for SMEs, but especially for women-owned SMEs. So, how does closing the gap, the gender gap in financial inclusion contribute to economic stability and poverty reduction?

[Hela Cheikhrouhou] Thank you, Ariane. To start with, I want to build on what Nourah said, that it takes, among other things, it takes programs at scale that incentivize those type of changes in the way we award capital in an economy. From that perspective, in order to close the gender divide on access to all forms of capital, whether equity or debt, there are a number of things that have to be done. Some of them are surprisingly straightforward, and there is a role that the DFIs have to play, but also can be mainstreamed across the financial sectors, and other forms, which are number one, having certain thematic interventions. Radi mentioned that we have been EDGE certified. We do offer also systematically when we work with clients, EDGE certification for gender and it’s accompanied with technical support. I visited several clients and I can see the difference. In İzmir, the mayor of the city introduced me to some of the women that were employed. You mentioned heavy machinery, Marcela, that were working in this heavy machinery, driving or working with because IFC gave them a thematic debt that was associated with creating 300 jobs for women on a list of 10 types of job that had zero women in them across the city. It made the life of these women different. I met some of them and they’re like, “that financial freedom and that economic empowerment allowed me to think of my life very differently.” Another example is when I visited Beirut in Lebanon. They have made a concerted effort and it was a woman-led startup that is one of the clients of IFC and I will mention some of them, and they’ve created the space within the offices for the child care. You know that it’s very well documented and it was mentioned, but basically, the care economy, the burden of it is on women, whether it’s child care or elderly care. If you have cost effective solutions for that, you liberate women. Safe and affordable mobility unlocks a lot, flexible time and ability to work from home. You mentioned the digital divide. It’s very effective. Every country I went to. In Pakistan, you have very bright women. They become doctors and then they become the very prized “doctor bride” because they get married and they stay home to look after the children and the elderly. Instead, we are working with a startup that… Because a significant majority of Pakistani women go through their whole life without seeking proper health care, online, it’s a woman-led startup that connects healthcare specialists that are women that are at home for a variety of reasons with the client. Closing the gender divide takes those programs and targets and some of the things that have really been done now at scale, in addition to EDGE certification is the concept of banking on women. So, banking on women has been very, very successful in the sense that as AAA rated institutions, the DFIs have cheap money, long term money. If the banks, which are the blood flow of the economy, want money from us, they have to show us that a certain percentage, a growing percentage of their financing is going to go to women. The same with asset managers. We’ve supported the first woman-led fund for equity because equity is very scarce in the developing world. It’s not like the US so it takes a gender lens, as was mentioned, to invest. If you have asset managers, that’s where we had very successful waves of “She WINS Arabia” for the Arab countries’ startups and their ecosystem of incubators and asset managers. Then we generalized it to Africa and now to climate, “She Wins Climate”, women too. It takes intentionality because we all default back to that idea that, “Oh, behind every great man there is a woman.” But why isn’t she in the front actually? Why is she working in the shadow? I really invite everybody in the audience to be a feminist. It’s for the good of the macro and it’s for the good of the people. [Applause]

[Ariane Di Iorio] Thank you. Hela. I mean we couldn’t close with better words. The truth is education. Let’s educate our children to be feminists so that the next generation will also have different perspectives to gender inclusion as to continue. Thank you so much to our panelists. We’re going to have a reception outside. So, we welcome the audience to join us. Please, if could stay just for a picture will be great. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause]

[Atia Byll-Cataria] Thank you. Thank you everyone. We just have one quick concluding remark to make. Thank you. Ariane Loubna, Hela, merci, and Nourah and Marcela, thank you so much. I think we are all very much motivated and encouraged by your words in this discussion. We walk away really thinking about all our collective efforts that we will pull to be able to continue to advance on gender equality. I would like to thank everyone for participating today. It’s an amazing International Women’s Day, our 10th anniversary. For those who are here, please do join us across the hall for a reception. For those online, we’d like to thank you for taking the time to learn more about MIGA’s gender work. Merci beaucoup. Happy International Women’s Day. [Applause] [Lively music]