12
W O M E N ’ S  E M P O W E R M E N T
WOMEN’S 
EMPOWERMENT
INTRODUCTION 
Women’s empowerment serves as a major lever for inclusive economic growth, poverty reduction, human 
capital development, and the promotion of sustainable development. Global data 
indicate that gender inequalities limit productivity, stifle innovation, and curtail the development of  
economies, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.  
Despite notable progress, women continue to face structural barriers including: (i) limited access to digital 
infrastructure and broadband internet; (ii) financial exclusion and difficulties in accessing capital; (iii) social, legal, 
and institutional constraints hindering women’s entrepreneurship; and (vi) underrepresentation of women in 
decision-making processes, high value-added sectors, and the digital economy.  
In response to these challenges, the World Bank Group is implementing an ambitious women’s 
empowerment agenda aimed at enabling women to participate fully in the global economy, leverage the 
opportunities offered by the digital sphere and entrepreneurship, and contribute actively to wealth creation, 
innovation, and shared prosperity. This agenda draws upon the experience gained from the WBG’s Gender 
Strategy (2016–2023) while addressing a global context marked by multiple crises — including conflicts, climate 
challenges, and economic shocks, among others — that disproportionately affect women and girls. Through its 
various institutions — the World Bank (IBRD and IDA), the IFC, and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency 
(MIGA) — the WBG implements multi-sectoral initiatives designed to enhance women’s economic, social, and 
political opportunities in developing countries.  
This program aims to enable an additional 300 million women to use high-speed internet by 2030, and to 
provide capital to 80 million women and women-led businesses by 2030.  
The World Bank Group implements this program through three drivers of change:  
‣
Innovation, grounded in data, high-quality data, and operational learning, to identify and scale up solutions 
that work;  
‣
Large-scale financing, by mobilizing the instruments of the World Bank (IBRD, IDA), IFC, and MIGA to 
support public and private investments that promote gender equality; and 
‣
Collective action, by working closely with governments, the private sector, civil society, and international 
partners to align policies, reforms, and investments. 
SCAN ME
KEY AREAS OF INTERVENTION 
To promote women's economic empowerment, several complementary areas of intervention are being 
considered: 
Expand women’s access to affordable, 
high-quality broadband internet, particularly 
in rural and remote areas.
Digital connectivity and women’s inclusion

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.