Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, I want to share an update on the World Bank Group’s work on gender.
Addressing critical gender gaps, including female labor force participation, offers an opportunity to boost incomes and stimulate growth. Research from the World Bank has repeatedly made clear that accelerating gender equality can generate significant economic gains.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2023, we at the World Bank Group will celebrate women’s achievements and contributions with a series of events and engagements – we look forward to your participation!
The UN theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”. This theme is aligned with the priority theme for the upcoming 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-67), “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.
Most Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) economies today are barely recognizable when compared to their former selves just a generation ago. Although not all countries have managed to rein in economic volatility, most have graduated to delivering an almost “normal” macroeconomic performance. The importance of this achievement cannot be overstated. Not only is macro stability critical to citizen wellbeing, but it is an essential foundation for faster growth and poverty alleviation. Progress can be detected in at least three areas.
Yet, globally, the advancement in women’s education has not translated into better jobs, more assets, or stronger voice for women. How, then, to accelerate equality?
At these substantial volumes, any improvement in public procurement can potentially contribute to savings, integrity, economic growth, inclusiveness, and sustainability. As governments around the world face massive fiscal pressure and rising inflation, they must ensure productive use of public resources—an efficient, transparent, and accountable public procurement is one way of doing so.