Between 2017 and 2019, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Bank, in collaboration with the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) of Sri Lanka, completed a pilot study in Sri Lanka with the goal of developing guidance on good practice in the measurement of women and...

The aim of this report is to identify binding constraints to women's economic empowerment in the DRC and identify promising entry points to unbind these constraints. This report makes three core contributions. It provides: i) a comprehensive picture of gender gaps across the country, ii) an...

Adolescent girls are viewed as a key demographic group to target for successfully breaking the intergenerational transmission of poverty in developing countries. Unfortunately, for many teenage girls in developing countries, adolescence entails a fleeting transition from childhood to adulthood,...

Gender equality and inclusion are central to the World Bank Group's twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Research has shown that the expansion of international trade is essential for poverty reduction, and it provides better job opportunities and increased returns...

The rapid digital transformation underway in Southeast Asia has the potential to have an equally transformative impact on women entrepreneurs. Although Southeast Asia boasts a higher incidence of women entrepreneurs compared to men, women-owned (WO) businesses tend to be smaller, have lower...

The rapid digital transformation underway in Africa has the potential to have an equally transformative impact on women entrepreneurs. Although Africa boasts a higher incidence of women entrepreneurs compared to men, women-owned (WO) businesses across the continent tend to be smaller, have lower...

This report explores gender differences in entrepreneurship for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) in Southeast Asia. It analyzes data from five Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Timor-Leste, and Vietnam, and reviews existing...

Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa, and it is projected to have the fifth largest population in the world by 2026. The gender gap is particularly acute in Nigeria, and three market failures stand out: (1) a persistent gender gap at the company leadership level; (2) lack of access to...

Women face many barriers to using public transport services, despite representing the largest share of public transport users around the world. Transport and infrastructure-oriented barriers are related to constraints in its affordability, acceptability and availability, as well as to the...

Trade is widely recognized to be an engine of growth that creates jobs, reduces poverty, and increases economic opportunity. Trade facilitation measures are non-discriminatory and apply to all traders in their design; however, these measures may not necessarily impact or benefit all traders in...