Empowering Women for a Prosperous Future: The World Bank’s 2024-2030 Gender Strategy
On Thursday, during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Washington, the World Bank introduced a landmark Gender Strategy for 2024-2030. This ambitious initiative focuses on strengthening women’s economic opportunities worldwide, recognizing that their inclusion in the global economy is not only essential for their empowerment but also for broader economic growth.
The new strategy’s cornerstone is to unlock economic opportunities for millions of women by ensuring greater access to broadband internet, social protection programs, and capital. These three pillars aim to address persistent gender barriers and facilitate women’s active participation in global economies, fostering resilience in families and communities, Reuters.
One of the strategy’s major goals is to connect 300 million additional women to broadband internet by 2030. This digital leap will not only enable them to access essential services but also open new pathways to financial services, education, healthcare, and job opportunities.
With access to digital platforms, women will be better equipped to participate in the modern workforce, obtain essential services, and develop their skills in ways that were previously unavailable to them.
Expanding digital connectivity is a critical step toward gender parity. By enabling more women to engage with the digital economy, the World Bank aims to create a ripple effect, enhancing the capabilities of entire households and lifting communities out of poverty.
The Gender Strategy also targets providing support to 250 million women, particularly those in the most impoverished and vulnerable groups, through social protection programs. These programs aim to reduce economic risks and improve resilience by offering financial assistance, childcare, and health benefits to women who are often the primary caregivers within their families.
Investing in social protection for women serves as a buffer, particularly during times of economic instability. It offers them the support needed to build secure livelihoods, ensuring that their basic needs are met even in times of economic hardship.
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In addition to broadband and social safety nets, the strategy has ambitious targets to improve women’s access to capital, with a goal to reach 80 million women and women-led businesses by 2030.
Access to financing is one of the greatest hurdles that women entrepreneurs face worldwide, limiting their capacity to grow businesses and generate employment. This commitment to capital provision seeks to dismantle those barriers and allow women to thrive as entrepreneurs.
By empowering women-led businesses with essential capital, the World Bank envisions a future where women contribute even more meaningfully to their local economies and, by extension, the global economy. This step addresses the structural challenges in entrepreneurship that have kept women from scaling their businesses.
World Bank President Ajay Banga highlighted the significance of this strategy, emphasizing that empowering women economically not only strengthens economies but also uplifts communities and families.
“When we increase women’s economic participation, it not only boosts the global economy but also strengthens families and communities,” he said in a statement. “Through economic empowerment, we are building a ladder out of poverty and extending hope and dignity as far as possible.”
The World Bank’s Gender Strategy 2024-2030 acknowledges the transformative impact of empowering women economically. With its ambitious goals, the strategy sets a new benchmark for gender equality in the global economy, aiming to break down existing barriers and drive growth.
As we progress toward 2030, the World Bank’s commitment to supporting women through enhanced connectivity, social protection, and capital is poised to create a more equitable and prosperous world for everyone.
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