Country Gender Assessment

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  • Publication
    Trade Facilitation and Gender Dimensions in South Africa: Survey Findings and Recommendations
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021) World Bank
    Access to international markets plays a critical role in an economy’s growth and development. Trade facilitation, the simplification, modernization, and harmonization of export and import processes has therefore emerged as an important issue for countries, as is reflected in the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement (WTO TFA), which came into effect on February 22, 2017. Increasingly, it is recognized that women traders face particular challenges when undertaking cross-border trade, such as lack of information and knowledge of cross-border regulations and procedures, lack of physical security at border crossings, exposure to harassment and gender-based violence at borders, and corruption. This report presents the results of a survey on trade facilitation challenges faced by traders and customs agents in South Africa. The survey also explored trade facilitation challenges related to Coronavirus (COVID-19).
  • Publication
    Gender Assessment in Benin: Women’s Participation in Economic Opportunities and Decision-Making
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-01) World Bank
    Gender equality is important for development—it matters not only for women and girls, and boys and men but also for communities and societies—for poverty reduction and economic growth. This assessment report provides an in-depth description of the gaps between women and men in Benin regarding endowments, economic opportunities, and agency—in line with the framework proposed in the 2012 World Development Report on gender equality and development (World Bank 2012b). According to this framework, the interaction between households, markets, and institutions is critical to understanding gender-related outcomes and their associations with development. Household decisions are based on preferences, incentives, and constraints, which are largely molded by informal institutions such as social norms or networks, formal institutions, and markets. Markets, institutions, and households interact to shape women’s status relative to men’s with respect to agency (or the ability to act and decide on one’s own life), endowments (human capital accumulation in the form of education and health), and economic opportunities (access to employment and income-generating activities).
  • Publication
    Ethiopia Gender Diagnostic Report: Priorities for Promoting Equity
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-03-17) World Bank
    Ethiopia has experienced remarkable economic success in recent years. In the past decade, its average annual growth rate far exceeded the regional average, at slightly over 10 percent relative to a regional 5 percent. Despite significant economic growth, however, women continue to face significant barriers in the workforce. The unmet potential of women in the workforce is intrinsically linked to a lack of opportunities for women in education, health, and human rights. This report presents evidence on the mechanisms underlying gender gaps in the Ethiopian workforce. Using data from the 2011-2016 Ethiopia socioeconomic surveys, this report provides a detailed understanding of the constraints faced by female farmers, entrepreneurs, and employees. To that end, the diagnostic makes four key contributions: first, this report provides an overview of the labor force in Ethiopia and identifies the factors that predict whether, how much, and in what sector an individual works. Second, this report uses Oaxaca-blinder decompositions to measure and account for gender gaps in economic outcomes in agriculture, self-employment, and wage labor. Third, this report identifies the links between labor market skills, social norms, and gender gaps in the Ethiopian workforce. Fourth it provides policy makers with a menu of innovative programming examples.
  • Publication
    Face of Poverty in Madagascar : Poverty, Gender, and Inequality Assessment
    (Washington, DC, 2014-03) World Bank
    Madagascar has been entirely unsuccessful in reducing the number of its people that are poor, or extremely so, in the ten years since 2001, when poverty was already at a very high level. This well-known conclusion draws on the analysis of three successive rounds of the national household expenditure surveys (enquete periodiques aupres des menages, EPM) conducted by the Madagascar National Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) in 2001, 2005, and 2010. The objective of the analysis in this report is to document the levels and changes in poverty in Madagascar, and provide a detailed review of correlates of poverty and inequality in various dimensions, including gender, age, the structure of households, and place of residence. The report is an assessment of past poverty trends, and while policy implications are highlighted in many cases, the report is focused mainly on the descriptive, rather than prescriptive. It is found that the poverty headcount did not decrease between 2001 and 2005, rising instead from 71 to 75 percent of the population, rather than the 68 percent estimated official headcount for 2005. The methodology is described at length in the report and its annexes.
  • Publication
    Gender and Economic Growth Assessment for Ghana 2007
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2007) Agboli, Mary; Agboli, Mary
    This study presents an assessment of the role of gender in economic growth in Ghana with emphasis on constraints to enterprise operations, investment, and growth among women owned firms. Anecdotal evidence suggests that women own up to a third of businesses in Africa, and that this represents a significant source for scaling up economic growth in such countries. In Ghana, women make up about 50.1 percent of the entire labor force and are mostly involved in micro enterprises and the retail trade. In spite of the fact that gender issues in Ghana have been given significant attention over the last decade in particular; and that Ghana ranks relatively well in terms of gender equity, there remains a number of legal, administrative, and institutional barriers that impede the growth of women-owned businesses and for that matter women in general to attain their full potential. This report was undertaken for the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC) and coordinated by the International Finance Corporation (IFC’s) Private Enterprise Partnership for Africa under the gender-entrepreneurship markets initiative. The study was conducted between July and November 2006. Most economically-active women in Ghana operate in the informal economy and are mostly involved in micro-enterprises and retail trade. Women in the informal sector tend to be located in the poorer segments of the economy, particularly in food crop farming and the micro enterprises sector. The general legal framework for property rights and business formation in Ghana does not contain explicit provisions that inhibit women’s economic participation. For more publications on IFC Sustainability please visit www.ifc.org/sustainabilitypublications.
  • Publication
    Survey on the Status of Business Women in Mozambique
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2007) Serra, Andrea
    This report presents the results of a study which aims to ascertain the status of and challenges facing Mozambican women's small and medium enterprises (SME´s). The study was carried out through a quantitative survey and focus group discussions among a convenience sample of 70 business women, from which 19 of them were Mozambican Association of business and executive woman (ACTIVA's) members and 59 were potential members. The study will collect elements that will allow a better knowledge of the entrepreneurial capacity of ACTIVA members and potential members, their training needs and technical backup as well as support for their business development. The survey will therefore be essential for ACTIVA and will provide information for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on needs to anticipate support strategies on behalf of potential members of the association. For more publications on IFC Sustainability please visit www.ifc.org/sustainabilitypublications.
  • Publication
    Strategic Gender Assessment of Mali
    (World Bank, Bamako, 2006-02) World Bank
    This issues paper discusses a gender assessment exercise carried out in April-June 2005. It provides the government of Mali and its partners with proposals aimed at improving policies and activities that promote gender equity and equality (GEE). The study is divided into four sections: Section 1 presents the national context within which the study falls; Section 2 deals with the gender profile in Mali; Section 3 addresses the institutional framework for gender implementation in Mali; and Section 4 gives the conclusions and recommendations of the study. Based on the findings of the study, advocacy will be carried out among decision-makers to inform them about gender-specific developmental challenges, and encourage them to give concrete support to gender mainstreaming.