Objective
To advance women’s and girl’s economic empowerment to promote shared growth and MDG3—gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Rationale
Expanding women’s and girl’s economic opportunities is smart economics. While women’s and girls’ education and health levels have improved in most poor countries, progress is lagging on improving their economic opportunities. This is inefficient, since increased women’s labor force participation and earnings are associated with reduced poverty and faster growth. This is also why the GAP concentrates on facilitating girls’ transition from school to work. Women will benefit from their economic empowerment, and so will men, children and society as a whole.
"In only a few decades, health and education levels of girls and women have improved significantly, but economic opportunity has not. Women consistently trail men in labor force participation, access to credit, entrepreneurship, inheritance and ownership rights and in the income they generate, and this is neither fair nor smart economics. Studies show that investment in girls and women yield very large economic and social returns."
Robert B. Zoellick, World Bank President
Duration and Budget
Gender Equality as Smart Economics is a $63 million action plan to increase World Bank Group work to empower women economically. The four-year plan was launched in 2007 with budget support from both the World Bank Group and external partners, including the governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Italy, the United Kingdom as well as the Nike Foundation.
Go to the Gender Trust Funds Site (intranet)
Focus Areas
Gender Equality as Smart Economics targets women’s empowerment in the economic sectors, most importantly, infrastructure: energy, transport, and water and sanitation; agriculture; private sector development; and finance.
The Roadmap
Gender Equality as Smart Economics is helping to 1) intensify gender mainstreaming in Bank and IFC operations and in regional economic and sector work. 2) Mobilize resources to implement innovative projects that empower women economically. 3) Facilitate the transition from school to work for girls through the Adolescent Girls Initiative.4) Improve knowledge and statistics on women’s economic participation and the relationship between gender equality, growth, and poverty reduction. 5) Create global partnerships for women’s economic empowerment with governments, multilateral organizations, the private sector and civil society.
Adolescent Girls Initiative
Learn More
Documents
Videos
Resources
Guide: The rationale, guiding principles, and strategy for Gender Equality as Smart Economics in English, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Russianand Spanish(PDF).
Brochure: A succinct pamphlet, giving a broad overview of Gender Equality as Smart Economics (PDF)
RSS