The attention given to the issue of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) as a harmful practice has been growing in recent years. Yet, while ending female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C, both terminologies are used in the literature) is a target under the Sustainable Development...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are vital to Vietnam's economic growth, accounting for more than 98 percent of all business, 40 percent of Gross domestic product (GDP), and 50 percent of total employment. The number of SMEs grew by around 100,000 in 2016, encouraged in part by increased...

This report summarizes research undertaken as part of the World Bank State- and Peace-building Fund (SPF) financed grant, Strengthening Capacity for Prevention and Response to Sexual- and Gender-Based Violence in Georgia (GBV). The goal of the grant is to build knowledge and capacity on...

Female labor force participation (FLFP) in Indonesia lags behind other countries in the region and has remained more or less unchanged since 1990. Descriptive evidence by the same authors points to unmet childcare needs as one constraint on FLFP. In this paper, we provide the first estimates of...

Due to the strong economic growth maintained in the last 15 years, Uzbekistan made progress in reducing gender inequality. At the same time, several demographic and structural challenges remain; and effectively engaging women in the economy is one of them. While modernizing various sectors of...

The International Finance Corporation, IFC, is a member of the World Bank Group. IFC is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries. Habib Bank Limited (HBL) was established in 1941 and was the first commercial bank in Pakistan....

This report summarizes the challenges facing Armenian women at school and in the workplace with a special focus on STEM-related employment. As the world transitions to an increasingly digital economy, jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) will become a powerful driver...

Lending to women-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as a distinct segment is still unexplored when compared to lending to MSMEs in India. Due to a lack of segmental focus and, perhaps, due to a higher perception of risk, formal financial institutions have made little effort to...

This review focuses specifically on Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women, as opposed to Violence against women and girls (VAWG) more broadly, for several reasons. Partner violence is the most prevalent form of violence against women globally: a woman is at the greatest risk for...