Events

LAW, JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT WEEK 2020 | Women’s Economic Empowerment and the Impact of COVID-19 ‒ The IMF’s Role and Legal Developments

November 17, 2020

VIRTUAL

MULTIMEDIA

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has become increasingly involved in assessing the impact of gender inequality on macroeconomic outcomes, including inclusive growth and development. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated such inequality. This presentation will discuss how the IMF supports its members and the international community's commitment to achieve gender equality within the confines of its mandate. It will highlight the work that the IMF is already doing in this area; discuss fiscal reforms that have been made in response to the COVID-19 crisis to improve gender equality and explore areas where the Fund may further enhance its contribution in the future. This session includes brief presentations by each of the speakers and a short panel discussion among the presenters about the IMF’s work in this area.

SPEAKERS

Audrey Yiadom

Counsel, International Monetary Fund
Audrey Yiadom is Counsel in the Country Law Unit of the Legal Department at the International Monetary Fund. This unit is responsible for reviewing the legal aspects of country operations, and issues related to Fund law and policy. Prior to joining the Fund, Ms. Yiadom was a Senior International Attorney at the Millennium Challenge Corporation and an Associate at Clifford Change US LLP. She earned her B.A., J.D. and LL.M. from Cornell University. Audrey is admitted to practice law in New York and the District of Columbia.

Alessandro Gullo

Assistant General Counsel, International Monetary Fund
Alessandro Gullo is Assistant General Counsel at the Legal Department of the International Monetary Fund, where he oversees the IMF’s legal advice on financial and fiscal law. He has steered legal reforms in these areas in IMF’s member countries and has led the integration of financial and fiscal law frameworks into the IMF’s core and emerging themes, such as governance and institution-building. Mr. Gullo published on fiscal governance and on banking and fiscal law matters. He received a LL.M. in International Legal Studies from Georgetown University and is admitted to the New York and to the Italian Bar.

Karla Vasquez

Senior Counsel, International Monetary Fund
Karla Vásquez Suarez is a Senior Counsel in the Financial and Fiscal Law Unit of the Legal Department of the IMF where she provides advice on a broad range of legal issues in public financial management and the financial sector in the context of technical assistance, financial assistance programs and surveillance work. Prior joining the Fund, Ms. Vasquez worked as a Senior Attorney with the Authority of Financial System Supervision and the Superintendence of Corporations in Bolivia, as well as in private practice. Ms. Vásquez received her LL.M. in International Business and Economic Law from Georgetown University Law Center and is licensed in the Bolivian and NY Bar.

Lisa Kolovich

Economist, International Monetary Fund
Lisa Kolovich is an economist at the IMF, focusing on Sao Tome and Principe and gender-related issues. Previously, she was the team manager for gender research under a joint IMF-DFID collaboration that focused on macro issues in low-income countries. Her research examines gender budgeting and fiscal policies initiatives as tools for reducing gender inequality, and she is the contributor and editor of the book, Fiscal Policies and Gender Equality. Before joining the IMF, Ms. Kolovich conducted program evaluations for the US Department of Labor and has been a consultant for the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank.

Katharine Christopherson (Moderator)

Assistant General Counsel, International Monetary Fund
Katharine Christopherson, a national of Peru, is an Assistant General Counsel in the Country Unit of the IMF’s Legal Department. She joined the IMF in 2000 after obtaining her Masters’ degree (LL.M.) from Yale Law School. Before joining the IMF, Ms. Christopherson practiced in the corporate and fiscal law areas and was also a professor of corporate and tax law at the University of Lima. She provides strategic, intellectual and operational leadership in the management of the work of the Legal Department’s Country Unit in charge of all country operations and IMF’s general policies.