A Retrospective of IFC’s Implementation of the World Bank Group Gender Strategy
This document reflects the significant expansion of IFC’s gender work, ranging from innovative research, new product development, broadened private sector advisory solutions, increased gender-lens investments, and robust partnerships. This expansion was fueled by a clear business case that explained why gender equality matters to the private sector, set ambitious institutional corporate targets, deployed an increasing number of decentralized gender resources, fostered a deeper engagement between the World Bank (WB) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) as one World Bank Group (WBG) addressing gender barriers, broadened financing instruments, and expanded the use of blended finance. As a result, long-term finance commitments with a gender lens increased from $1 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2019 to $8.99 billion in FY23. IFC’s share of women directors nominated for IFC board seats rose from 26 percent in FY18 to 62 percent in FY23. New advisory projects with a gender lens rose from 25 percent in FY16 to 55 percent in FY23. IFC also invested $575 million across six gender bonds issued by private sector financial institutions – each was the first in its market. Finally, this document highlights key areas of learning during the implementation of the first gender strategy and summarizes what more can be done to accelerate gender equality through the forthcoming World Bank Group Gender Strategy. Due to the negative impact of COVID-19 on gains in gender equality, new investments are required that advance affordable, safe quality childcare, prevent and mitigate gender-based violence, and increase women’s labor force participation rate. On an equally and increasingly important agenda, women are disproportionately impacted by climate change but are less represented in efforts to address it, gender equality and climate need to be better connected in development efforts. While some progress has been made, more efforts will be needed to accelerate gender equality and tackle the backlash against the inclusion of women and other marginalized groups in many countries. This could include integrating more gender perspectives into IFC investments via tools such as corporate targets, ramping up the use of blended and sustainability linked finance, partnering with investors to mobilize and allocate gender-smart finance; and deploying multi-sector gender programs at country level in close collaboration with the World Bank to tackle stubborn gender inequalities. IFC can further connect its ambitious gender program with programs targeting marginalized groups (low-income/base of the pyramid, migrants/refugees, forcibly displaced people, LGBTI, and persons with disabilities) to better tailor solutions to country and client needs. Finally, gender results measurement was limited to inputs, processes, and some outputs, and this retrospective suggests collecting more standardized monitoring indicators and embedding better evaluation approaches to measure and publicly report on aggregate outcomes and impacts of gender equality efforts.
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| Format: | Working Paper biblioteca |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
World Bank Group, Washington, DC
2023-08
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| Subjects: | GENDER, GENDER-LENS INVESTMENT, PRIVATE SECTOR GENDER EQUALITY, WORLD BANK GROUP STRATEGY, IFC BOARD MEMBERS GENDER, GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE (GBV), |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099348108232317367/IDU03ffb382a05c8104ff50a8840211892b249a2 https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/40342 |
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