Gender Mainstreaming, Employment and Youth - WBG

Gender equality is central to the World Bank Group’s goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. No society can develop sustainably without transforming the distribution of opportunities, resources, and choices for males and females so that they have equal power to shape their own lives and contribute to their families, communities, and countries.

The World Bank Group works with public- and private-sector clients to close gaps between males and females globally for lasting impact in tackling poverty and driving sustainable economic growth that benefits all. In the last two decades, the world has narrowed the divide between men and women, especially in primary education and health. Yet, critical gaps remain. Key challenges—from climate change to forced migration, pandemics, or the global jobs crisis—affect women and girls in specific ways. They also have a unique role to play as drivers of growth and progress and powerful agents of change.

Gender norms and stereotypes constrain the opportunities of both women and men, girls and boys, through different pathways. Most inequalities based on gender have historically put females at a disadvantage. In some domains, reverse gender gaps are appearing, such as in male mortality in some European and Central Asian countries and male school dropout rates in the Caribbean and elsewhere.