World Bank Group Gender Action Plan Gender Equality

World Bank Group Gender Action Plan Gender Equality as Smart Economics Lucia Fort The World Bank August 9, 2007

Overall objectives of the Gender Action Plan Promote women’s economic advancement through interventions at: Policy level Make markets work for women Agency level Empower women to compete in markets

Framework Policy Level Agency Level Product Markets Include female-owned businesses and farms in supply chains Form women’s business, purchasing, and transport associations Financial Markets Offer commercial credit lines and financial services for women Support self-help groups and savings associations Land Markets Promote joint titling to land Ensure women’s participation to enable women to access in land adjudication and loans registration processes Labor Markets Certify good gender practices in firms Provide labor intermediation services to young women Infrastructure Increases Access to all 4 Markets

Four Action Areas Action 1: Engender Operations & Technical Assistance in Economic Sectors Action 2: Implement Results-Based Initiatives (RBIs) . Core Objective Empower women to compete in: • Product markets • Financial markets • Land markets • Labor markets Action 3: Improve Research & Statistics

Expected Results ¢ Action 1. Increase in attention to and action on gender issues in the Bank Group’s work. ¢ Action 2. Improvements in policies and programs that enhance women’s access to economic resources and their participation in markets. ¢ Action 3. A growing body of knowledge and increased research capacity in countries on the links between gender, poverty reduction, and growth, and use of that information to inform policies and programs. ¢ Action 4. Harmonization of donor support for the economic empowerment of women and a growing focus in client countries on supporting women’s economic activities

Characteristics of Results-Based Initiatives (RBIs) ¢ Emphasis on women’s economic empowerment ¢ Emphasis on capacity building and skills development ¢ Emphasis on piloting new and scaling up proven interventions ¢ Emphasis on measurable results, impact evaluation ¢ Pool together the best expertise on implementation and technical assistance for partnership ¢ Can be stand-alone or part of a Bank lending/grants

Examples of RBIs with Direct Impact on Women’s Economic Participation o Agricultural production and services for rural women: to increase access to production and processing resources, employment and income opportunities. o Financial and business services: to strengthen and expand women’s enterprises. o Labor intermediation services and traineeship programs: to ease women's transition between school and work with private sector providers. o Public employment guarantee programs: to expand women’s access and commitment to the labor market. o Innovative childcare programs in private sector firms: to improve women’s productivity by reducing their child care responsibilities.

Examples of RBIs with Indirect impact on women’s economic advancement o Legal training: to improve women’s awareness of available legal protections and enhance their ability to use the laws and legal services for protection and income generation. o Community-based awareness and training programs: to facilitate formation of farmers’ cooperative, teach women technical and scientific skills to manage their businesses. o Legal, policy and regulatory reforms (family protection, revisions of inheritance laws, repeal of prohibitions for women): to revise gender discriminatory laws and labor codes and to enable women to own assets independently of husbands. o Going beyond microfinance: to reduce women's constraints to access formal financial services through the private banking system.

Performance Indicators ¢ Increased percentage of operations in agriculture, transport, energy, water and private sector development with highly satisfactory gender content ¢ Increased percentage of en-gendered analytical work, e. g. , ICAs, GGAs ¢ Increased understanding about the determinants of women’s economic empowerment ¢ Increase in use of research results in formulating country assistance strategies ¢ Improvements in quality and availability of sex-disaggregated labor force and employment data

List of Possible Focus Countries Low Income *Afghanistan *Cambodia *Ethiopia *Ghana *Honduras *Kenya *Lao PDR *Malawi *Mauritania *Mongolia *Mozambique *Niger *Papua New Guinea *Senegal *Tajikistan *Tanzania *Timor-Leste *Uganda *Vietnam *Yemen Fragile States *Liberia *Sierra Leone *Sudan Middle Income *Armenia *Chile *China *Egypt *Guatemala *Indonesia *Morocco *Nicaragua *Peru *Philippines *Uruguay