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UFGE 2024 Annual Report: Accelerate Gender Equality to End Poverty on a ...

UFGE’s newly launched 2024 Annual Report spotlights key UFGE achievements and stories of impact, exploring how it is helping shape the World Bank Group’s priorities to accelerate gender equality to end poverty on a livable planet.

Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality (UFGE) 2024 Annual Report: Accelerate Gender Equality to End Poverty on a Livable Planet

Opening Opportunities: The Economic Cost of Gender Gaps in Entrepreneurship ...

This report by the East Asia and Pacific Gender Innovation Lab examines the state of female entrepreneurship in Indonesia, outlines major binding constraints and gender gaps, and highlights the untapped potential that could be realized if key barriers were lifted.

Gender Innovation Lab Federation Causal Evidence Series

This series highlights the work of the five Gender Innovation Labs (GILs) that constitute the GIL Federation, a World Bank community of practice coordinated by the World Bank Gender Group. The briefs include key findings from impact evaluations of development interventions in nine areas (education, labor markets, entrepreneurship, agriculture, land titling, care, social protection, gender-based violence, and adolescent girls). They provide evidence and lessons on how to close gender gaps and foster women’s economic empowerment in these areas.

World Bank Group Gender Strategy Update website

Graphic showing gender gaps in asset ownership

Insights from LSMS+: Women lag behind in asset ownership and are burdened ...

A new brief by the Living Standards for Measurement Study Plus highlights findings from four countries that LSMS+ has surveyed: Cambodia, Ethiopia, Malawi and Tanzania. The data shows gender differences in land and asset ownership, and differences in terms of their time spent in wage vs. domestic activities. The article also offers some takeaways on survey collection methods.

Promotional banner of South Asia Gender Innovation Lab Podcast series

Stories from the Field Podcast

The South Asia Gender Innovation Lab (SAR GIL) has launched "Stories From the Field"—a new podcast—that documents the experiences of key stakeholders and beneficiaries engaged in designing, implementing, and participating in women’s groups in South Asia. In each episode, hosts Najaf Zahra and Ayesha Tahir unpack important questions around women's groups while keeping beneficiary voices at the heart of the conversation.

Second episode: Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom

UFGE: Celebrating 10 Years of Impact - Annual Report 2022

The Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality’s (UFGE) 2022 Annual Report provides a retrospective of its achievements and impact since 2012, marking the UFGE’s ten-year anniversary. As illustrated in this report, the global public goods developed under the UFGE have been leveraged effectively across countries and regions; fostering innovation and bringing knowledge to operations for impact. The UFGE has supported projects and programs that have contributed to women’s empowerment increasing their job opportunities, earnings, voice and agency, access to education, assets and financial services, and more.

16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence

From November 25 to December 10, Gender Innovation Labs (GILs) from 3 regions are participating in activities organized by the World Bank Group (WBG) under the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, an annual international campaign to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.

East Asia and Pacific GIL: BLOG: Reducing non-partner gender-based violence with conditional cash transfers in the Philippines
Learn more about UFGE’s impact on policies to address GBV: BLOG: Sexual harassment in the workplace in Lebanon – where are we headed?
Latin America and the Caribbean GIL: Event Recording: How Can Governments Address Gender-based Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean
South Asia GIL: Event Recording: From Safety to Empowerment: Pathways for Improved Mobility for Women in South Asia
South Asia GIL: Event Recording: Round table discussion: The effects of regional integration on human trafficking

Enterprising Women: Toward Equal Business Opportunity in Southeast Asia

A new report by the East Asia and Pacific Gender Innovation Lab explores gender differences in entrepreneurship for micro, small, and medium enterprises in Southeast Asia. It analyzes household and firm-level data from five Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam, and reviews existing evidence from across the region. The report employs various econometric techniques to understand the factors that are associated with these gaps.

Publication page
Documentary: Against the Challenges
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Business women in Iraq showing signs with gender equality messaging

The Business Case for Investing in Women’s Employment in Iraq

This three-part company insight conducted by the Mashreq Gender Facility in Iraq highlights forward-thinking companies and seeks to inspire other businesses to design more gender-aware environments based on models that work.

Zain Iraq - Fostering Family-Friendly Policies for Women in the Workplace
Ashur International Bank for Investment - Advancing Women in Business Leadership & Management
Nafith Logistics Co. - Supporting Women in Non-Traditional Roles

Child Care Subsidies, Employment Services and Women's Labor Market Outcomes ...

Women in Egypt often want to work but face multiple barriers due to cost of time, limited access to employment and restrictive gender norms. This paper examines the impact of two interventions aimed at providing child care subsidies and employment services to address the constraints on women’s employment in Egypt. The authors also discuss take-up of the two interventions and contextualize take-up and outcomes with information on norms about women’s work and childcare.

Uneven Recovery in Latin America and the Caribbean : Are Women Being Left ...

In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the effects of the pandemic on labor market outcomes continue to be pronounced, especially for women. This is partly driven by a slow recovery of sectors that predominantly employ women. This policy brief offers a set of recommendations on policy directions and reforms that could help to address gender gaps in the labor market and the situation of workers in LAC more broadly.

Children smiling at a table in a classroom

Childcare and Mothers’ Labor Market Outcomes in Lower- and Middle-Income ...

This study reviews 22 studies which plausibly identify the causal impact of institutional childcare on maternal labor market outcomes in lower-and-middle income countries. It also analyzes aspects of childcare design, including hours, ages of children, coordination with other childcare services that may increase the impacts on maternal labor market outcomes. It concludes with a discussion of directions for future research.

Working Paper: Childcare and Mothers’ Labor Market Outcomes in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries -

Closing Gaps, Increasing Opportunities : A Diagnostic on Women’s Economic ...

In Nigeria, closing gender gaps in key economic sectors could yield additional gains of US9.3 billion dollars or up to US22.9 billion dollars. This report identifies and measures gender gaps in economic sectors, analyzes the drivers of such gaps, estimates their the cost to the gross domestic product (GDP) and offers policy guidance to target the drivers of inequality effectively.

Breaking Barriers: Female Entrepreneurs Who Cross Over to Male-Dominated ...

A new World Bank report explores the difference in profits among female entrepreneurs who cross over into male-dominated sectors (MDS) compared to those who remain in traditionally female-concentrated sectors (FCS). It aims to fill the gaps in the literature on gender-based sectoral segregation.

World Bank Live Event: Breaking Barriers - Female Entrepreneurs Who Cross Over to Male-Dominated Sectors

Beyond Money : Does Migration Experience Transfer Gender Norms Empirical ...

This paper examines the impact of return migration from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf on the transfer of gender norms to the Indian state of Kerala. The paper finds that returning migrants from Saudi Arabia tend to exhibit conservative values regarding gender-based violence and extreme attitudes pertaining to the perpetration of physical violence against women.

How Have Firms Fared in Times of COVID-19 in Addis Ababa

This paper assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures on firm operations in Addis Ababa.1 The World Bank, in collaboration with the Job Creation Commission (JCC), implemented a highfrequency phone survey of firms (HFPS-F).

Childcare and Mothers’ Labor Market Outcomes in Lower- and Middle-Income ...

This paper reviews 22 studies which explore the causal impact of institutional childcare on maternal labor market outcomes in lower-and-middle income countries. The authors further analyze aspects of childcare design, including hours of operation, ages of children, and coordination with other childcare services that may increase the impact on maternal labor market outcomes.

About the Program

The UFGE is a World Bank Group multi-donor trust fund supporting evidence, better data, private sector and country-driven solutions to help policy makers, companies and practitioners accelerate gender equality. The UFGE has financed work in over 100 countries, influencing policies and programs and changing how companies work. Learn more in our latest Annual Report.

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Gender Innovation Labs
Gender Innovation Lab Federation Website | Africa | East Asia and Pacific | Latin America and Caribbean | Middle East and North Africa | South Asia
Gender Data Resources
Living Standards Measurement Study - Plus (LSMS+) | Strengthening Gender Statistics (SGS)