Tag Archives: Equality

Voices from Western and Central Africa: Standing Up for the Power of Girls

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STORY HIGHLIGHTSpower-of-girls-western-and-central-africa-v6

  • Women and girls across the African continent yearn for learning and dream of a better future where they can pursue their education, stay healthy, find work, and care for their families at the same time.
  • Many countries in the region are taking steps towards political and economic inclusion. The latest World Bank’s Women, Business, and the Law report highlights that Sub-Saharan Africa continues to advance reforms to close the legal gender gap, but a broad gap remains between laws on paper and the reality on the ground.
  • Here are five stories of change that highlight voices of girl champions from the region having ripple effects within their communities and entire countries and economies.

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Women’s Leadership and Collective Action: Driving change toward gender equality and empowerment

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Are men the new weaker sex? The rise of the reverse gender gap in education

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capture1_34It is probably fair to say that the World Bank’s latest report on intergenerational mobility – Fair Progress? Economic Mobility across Generations around the World – is the first-ever attempt to paint a truly global picture of how achievement – or the lack thereof – is transmitted across generations. Though there are results for income mobility for a subset of countries, most of the analysis focuses on educational attainment across 148 economies, representing over 95% of the world’s population.

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Women in the changing world of work: Not just more jobs but better jobs for women

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This year’s International Women’s Day “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet fig1-wages-iwd_blog50-50 by 2030” places great emphasis on equality and economic empowerment. When countries give women greater opportunities to particip

ate in the economy, the benefits extend far beyond individual girls and women but also to societies and economies as a whole. Addressing gender gaps in accessing good quality jobs is not just the right thing to do from a human rights perspective; it is also smart economics. A recent study shows that raising labor participation of women at par with men can increase GDP in the United States by 5 percent, in the UAE by 12 percent and in Egypt by 34 percent.

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