Miscellaneous Knowledge Notes
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Publication
Typology of Economic Women’s Groups Programs in South Asia
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-04-13)Women’s groups models vary widely across contexts but context-specific documentation is limited. This wide variation coupled with inconsistent terms used to describe these groups creates challenges in using the evidence collected on group-based interventions to inform policy. The typology presented in this brief focuses on economic women’s group models implemented in South Asia. Using program documents and evidence from evaluations, it identifies implementation models, key characteristics, and the implications of investing in women’s groups to improve economic outcomes in South Asia. -
Publication
What do We Know About Interventions to Increase Women’s Economic Participation and Empowerment in South Asia?: Financial Products
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-04-07)The World Bank’s South Asia Region Gender Innovation Lab (SARGIL) is conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions with direct or indirect effects on measures of women’s economic empowerment. The review focuses on changes in labor market outcomes, income, and other empowerment indicators. The goal is to document what has and has not worked for women in the region (covering all countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), understand the types of interventions implemented, and identify gaps in knowledge and action. Interventions are organized into five categories: Skills, Assets, Financial Products, Care, and Empowerment. This brief summarizes the main findings from the financial products category. -
Publication
Emerging Trends in National Financial Inclusion Strategies that Support Women’s Entrepreneurship
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-03-10)Starting a business is a way for women to generate income and become more resilient when dealing with shocks. However, large gender gaps in formal entrepreneurship impede women’s livelihoods and global development. The persistence of gender-based barriers-notably, unequal access to financial accounts, constrained credit, and normative roles that keep women in the role of primary caregivers underscores the need for broader support and regulatory reform, including reform of the financial sector. This brief presents data collected by the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) project on selected contours of National Financial Inclusion Strategies that can support women’s entrepreneurship. In all, fifty-two economies worldwide had valid financial inclusion strategies in force as of June 30, 2022. An increasing number are now highlighting the need to promote women’s financial inclusion. However, as this initial foray shows, more could be done in National Financial Inclusion Strategies to promote credit to women entrepreneurs and enhance the national-level collection and reporting of financial data disaggregated by sex. The analysis also shows that the field for developing indicators at both the policy and regulatory level remains ripe for exploration by the WBL project and others. -
Publication
Facilitating the School to Work Transition of Young Women
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)In Latin America and the Caribbean, the school-to-work transition is more challenging for girls than boys due to societal norms. Young women who drop out of school are more likely to be employed in less stable, lower-paid jobs in the informal sector. Work-study programs can help to address the gender gaps in the school-to-work transition. In Uruguay, a national work-study program offered by a lottery system significantly improved the school-to-work transition for young girls and boys. Key features of the program included providing high-quality jobs with a focus on human capital accumulation that is compatible with schooling. -
Publication
Legal Reforms to Protect Women at Home and at Work in São Tomé and Príncipe
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-10-22)This brief examines the introduction of landmark reforms in São Tomé and Príncipe to counter domestic and family violence and to protect women, both at home and at work. The enactment of laws on domestic and family violence, and the subsequent introduction of the country’s new Penal Code and, more recently, the Labor Code, were each made possible due to a combination of factors. Women’s active participation in public life, multistakeholder coalitions, and awareness-raising campaigns advanced the reform agenda. The lessons learned from this process can provide insights to international organizations, advocates, and policymakers on the necessary elements to carry out meaningful reforms for gender equality. -
Publication
The Importance of Designing Gender and Disability Inclusive Laws: A Survey of Legislation in 190 Economies
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-09-12)Women with disabilities face additional barriers to their participation in the economy and society compared to men, with and without disabilities, and relative to nondisabled women, resulting in unequal parental rights, discrimination in their private life and the workplace, reduced employment opportunities, lower earnings, and high exposure to gender-based violence. The legal recognition of multiple forms of discrimination is a vital first step to address and, ultimately, enforce the human rights of women with disabilities and protect them from discriminatory practices. The law is thus one key element to achieve their full inclusion and enable societies to thrive in the long run. This Brief presents data collected by the World Bank’s Women, Business, and the Law project on the legal barriers that women with disabilities face when accessing economic opportunities in 190 economies. The new data suggest that only one-quarter of economies worldwide explicitly protect and promote the rights of women with disabilities. -
Publication
Gender Wage Gap in Thailand
(Washington, DC, 2022-09)The gender wage gap in Thailand is much less significant than in most countries in the world. The average hourly wage among female workers, in fact, slightly surpasses that of males. This highly equitable gender wage pattern is seen at all levels of the wage distribution. Female representation is also quite equal at all levels of wages; the likelihood of finding females in low-wage jobs is as high as in high-wage jobs. One important factor driving this gender wage parity is the higher educational attainment among female workers. -
Publication
What do We Know About Interventions to Increase Women’s Economic Participation and Empowerment in South Asia?: Asset Transfers and Property Law
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-09)The World Bank’s South Asia Region Gender Innovation Lab (SAR GIL) is conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions with direct or indirect effects on measures of women’s economic empowerment. The review focuses on changes in labor force participation, employment, income, and empowerment outcomes. The goal is to document what has worked and what has not for women in the region (covering all countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), the types of interventions implemented, and identifiable gaps in knowledge and action. The review organizes interventions in six broad categories: skills, assets, credit, labor market, entrepreneurship, and empowerment. This note summarizes the main findings from asset transfer interventions and changes in inheritance and property right policies. -
Publication
Not There Yet: Slow Recovery and Many Left Behind as Latin America and the Caribbean Navigates the Ripples of the Pandemic - 2021 High-Frequency Phone Surveys - Wave 2
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-09)To continue monitoring how the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the welfare of households in the region, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) joined forces in 2021 to implement a second phase of High-Frequency Phone Surveys (HFPS) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). A first wave was collected between May and July 2021, and a second between October 2021 and January 2022. This last wave takes the socio-economic pulse of households and measures the region's well-being almost two years into the pandemic. This note presents the emerging results in the areas of labor markets, income, food security, coping mechanisms, education, health, and gender. -
Publication
Constraints to Women’s Use of Public Transport in Developing Countries, Part II: Safety
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-08-03)Women and men travel differently in low- and middle-income countries and women face different constraints on their mobility. _is Brief is the second in a two-part series that provides an overview of the evidence on key features of women’s travel behavior and the safety barriers they face in accessing public transport in developing countries (see Borker 2022, which focuses on affordability, frequency, coverage, and comfort). This brief focuses on the safety concerns that limit women’s use of public transport, centering on two aspects of safety: safety from accidents and safety from violence. It highlights how women’s different travel behavior, as well as unsafe infrastructure, driving, and vehicle design, make women vulnerable to road accidents. It also shows that an overwhelming majority of women around the world have experienced sexual violence as they travel, whether verbal, visual, or physical. Women’s perceptions about violence and their actual safety in public spaces affect both their physical mobility and economic choices. Understanding the evidence on the challenges faced by women is a first step in identifying policies and interventions that could improve women’s accessibility.