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A pilot intervention in the Republic of Congo showed that providing young women with information about trade-specific earnings can encourage them to cross-over to more lucrative, traditionally male-dominated trades, and thereby contribute to reducing gaps in earnings between female and male run business. The information intervention is being scaled under the Additional Financing of the project that supported the pilot, and an operation in neighboring Cameroon.

This story explores the impacts of psychology-based training (personal initiative training) aimed at developing the growth mindsets of entrepreneurs in Togo and Mozambique. Supported by the Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality (UFGE), and implemented by the World Bank Africa Gender Innovation Lab (AFRGIL) in collaboration with the Togo Private Sector Development Project, the intervention has shown positive results as women farmers who received the personal initiative training were more likely to increase their profits, compared to female entrepreneurs who received traditional business training.

The Solomon Island¡¯s Community Access and Urban Services Enhancement (CAUSE) project, with the support of UFGE, undertook a study which identified a set of 18 recommendations to increase the participation of vulnerable young women from urban and semiurban areas in infrastructure and waste management activities under CAUSE and improve their opportunities to benefit from better jobs after project culmination. An exceptional number of 15 of these recommendations have been adopted and implemented under the project. This Results Story provides an overview of some of the key actions implemented under CAUSE to improve women¡¯s safety and access to employment.

Among unemployed youth in South Africa, approximately 50 percent have not completed secondary education and have limited or no work experience. In this context, reliable signals of worker qualifications are scarce, and firms¡ªparticularly those hiring for entry-level positions¡ªhave very little information with which to sort job applications. Studies revealed that addressing information frictions between firms and applicants leads to better employment outcomes for youth and particularly benefits young women.

Women are underrepresented in jobs in natural resources sectors. For example, only 5 to 10 percent of those employed in large-scale mining projects globally are women. Women-owned businesses are also often excluded from the natural resources supply chain, as procurement requirements of large oil, gas, and mining companies often make it harder for smaller, newer companies to get a foothold. In this context, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with the support of the Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality (UFGE), created two toolkits which aim to ensure that both women and men from communities where natural resources projects are implemented can benefit, that women¡¯s needs are taken into account, and that women gain access to better employment in these sectors.

Women represent more than 60 percent of the agricultural labor force in some parts of Asia and Africa. However, women farmers still have significantly less access to productive assets, including financial services, than men. Digital Financial Products, have the potential to help narrow these gaps, yet a stocktaking conducted by the World Bank found that these products are seldomly targeted to women. In this context, A UFGE supported project provided Technical Assistance to DFS Providers in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania as they adapted their products and marketing strategies to increase access to financial services for women.

Digital payments via mobile banking can save employers money and time and help employees access formal financial services. A joint IFC and Bangladesh Bank initiative developed the business case for electronic wage payments in garment factories and secured buy-in from the mobile financial sector. During 2016-2018, over 70,000 women garment workers opened mobile financial accounts.

Public works programs provide an important safety net for vulnerable households through temporary jobs during adverse times, but inadequate childcare leave young mothers with the choice of passing up work opportunities or leaving children unattended. The government of Burkina Faso and the World Bank developed mobile day care centers.

Ending violence against women is a complex challenge requiring a change in social norms and laws and policies that make women vulnerable, but a survivor-focused reporting mechanism can be a positive step forward. Nepal's National Women Commission, with World Bank support, developed a 24-hour toll free helpline; an idea that started with a 2013 Violence Against Women Hackathon.

Governments are spending more than ever before on youth employment programs but rarely do they explicitly target young women. For girls, developing strong life skills is key to building their capacity to deal effectively with everyday life.