Topic

Gender Equality & Economic Inclusion

Gender equality is an urgent imperative, a matter of fairness and justice, and is essential for development. Our world stands at a critical crossroads. While progress on gender equality and economic inclusion has been made, many challenges threaten these gains. With only 17% of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets on track, nearly half show minimal progress, and over a third are stalled or regressing. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened gender-based violence, increased unpaid care work, and set back women’s economic participation, which still hasn't fully recovered in some regions. At this pace, it will take over 100 years to achieve gender parity.

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IFC is uniquely positioned to drive a comprehensive, cross-sectoral approach to advancing gender equality and economic inclusion. With over a decade of experience, IFC leverages its expertise to address interconnected issues through integrated solutions across investments, advisory services, and private sector dialogue and policy.

 

IFC also promotes the inclusion of other groups who are often marginalized, such as persons with disabilities, LGBTI people, migrants, refugees, ethnic minorities, and individuals at the base of the economic pyramid.

The impact of IFC clients in 2023:

  • 1.5 million Women employed by IFC direct investment clients
  • 22% of the board members in IFC direct investment clients were women
  • 33.4 million MSME loans made to women-owned enterprises
  • $58.9 billion outstanding MSME loans to women-owned enterprises

World Bank Group Gender Strategy 2024 - 2030

By 2030, the World Bank Group (WBG) aims to:

  • Enable 300 million more women to use broadband, unlocking essential services, financial services, education, and job opportunities.

  • Support 250 million women with social protection programs, focusing especially on the poorest and most vulnerable.

  • Provide 80 million more women and women-led businesses with capital, addressing a critical constraint to entrepreneurship growth.

The Implementation Plan of the World Bank Group Gender Strategy 2024-2030: Accelerate Gender Equality to End Poverty on a Livable Planet translates the Strategy into action by enhancing strategic country engagement as One WBG, delivering results at scale, engaging differently, and mobilizing for impact.

Focus Areas

 

IFC’s Roadmap 2030 for Gender and Economic Inclusion, provides a blueprint for how the organization will work with the private sector to implement the World Bank Group Gender Strategy 2024-30. The Roadmap identifies three priorities and three cross cutting themes to advance gender equality and economic inclusion of women and other marginalized groups.

 

To achieve these goals, IFC leverages its expertise in emerging markets and private sector networks, working with: Investors to drive inclusive allocation of capital to support both individuals and businesses; Buyers and suppliers to create equitable opportunities for women and other underrepresented groups to participate in supply chains; Employers to create more and better opportunities for employment and leadership roles.

Inclusive Capital Allocation

Provide inclusive allocation of capital by scaling up solutions to support a wide range of needs of women consumers, entrepreneurs, and business leaders.

Inclusive Supply Chains

Facilitate greater access to opportunities across the supply chain by partnering with clients to accelerate the growth of women entrepreneurs and enabling them to better participate in and benefit from economic opportunities throughout the value chain.

Inclusive Employment and Leadership

Create more and better opportunities for women to earn a livelihood, by enabling access to more and better jobs and leadership roles.

Cross-cutting Themes

Digital Empowerment

Accelerate digital inclusion by improving access, affordability and usage of digital technologies for women. 

Equitable Climate Action

Integrate gender and inclusion in climate measures by removing the amplified barriers faced by women due to climate change, improving access to green skills and jobs, financing green ventures, and by empowering women to serve as change agents to drive climate action.

Addressing Gender-based Violence (GBV)

Address gender-based violence by leveraging the private sector’s added value to develop products and solutions that support the prevention and response of GBV in the communities where it operates, and implement policies and practices aimed at building safer and more resilient work environments. 

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