In light of an international call for increasing female participation in the workforce, a large part of IFC’s task revolves around narrowing the gap between women and men in business as entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, community stakeholders, suppliers and consumers. As a member of the World Bank Group, IFC launched #Be Bold for Change, an initiative geared at opening dialogues with top management.

#Be Bold for Change

Despite progress made in bridging the gender gap in health and education, women are still far behind in terms of participating economically and being politically empowered. The 2016 McKinsey report, ‘Delivering the Power of Parity: Towards a more gender equal society’, revealed that as much as US$28 trillion dollars could be added to the international economy by 2025 through female participation. To help make this happen, IFC is developing solutions that are gender-smart and benefit companies and women alike. IFC is also conducting research and assisting clients advice and investments and through learning partnerships. Over the course of two decades, IFC has facilitated investment of billions of dollars in the microfinance sector which benefitted more than 50 million women.

Women as Corporate Leaders, Consumers, Suppliers and Stakeholders

IFC Regional Director Mengistu Alemayeho spoke about gender equality at the #Be Bold for Change event. According to Alemayeho, achieving female empowerment and gender equality makes a profound impact on the advancement of humanity socially, politically and economically. The IFC also reported that women who are economically empowered are catalysts for growth and expansion across various fields. These women often reinvest into initiatives aimed at improving the education, nutrition and health of children.

Committed to Positive Change

IFC is committed to narrowing the gap between genders through being a change agent. In 2016 IFC allocated US$50 million as a loan to an Indian bank specifically for businesses owned by women. IFC also partnered with FreeCharge, a mobile payments company that encourages women to sell products online. Focused on financial inclusion, IFC is strengthening local capital markets with gender equality as the ultimate goal.