Does group gender diversity benefit individuals? I examine this question with a field experiment randomizing 3,060 students to small study groups at university entry. Assignment to mixed-gender rather than single-gender groups improves performance and well-being for both men and women:...

Women are essential to the growth of any progressive society. Equal access to employment is necessary for both women's empowerment and global economic growth. However, discrimination against women persists at all career levels, making it challenging for them to overcome barriers to leadership...

Despite several policies and legislation enactments to address gender inequality in the post-apartheid South African employment landscape, a significant proportion of female academics still face marginalization and underrepresentation in senior executive positions. This paper aims to investigate...

This paper examines the effect of proximity to mining activity on men's adherence to traditional masculinity norms. Combining geocoded survey data with detailed spatial information on mining activity across 37 countries, we employ an instrumental variable strategy that exploits exogenous...

Gender quotas remain controversial despite evidence of their effectiveness in reducing labor-market gender inequality. We study how informational narratives about quotas affect support, and how effects depend on pre-existing causal beliefs about inequality. In a pre-registered survey experiment...

Auf dem Arbeitsmarkt bestehen Unterschiede zwischen Männern und Frauen, die in zahlreichen Aspekten zulasten von Frauen gehen: Indikatoren wie der Gender Pay Gap, der Gender Earnings Gap, der Gender Employment Gap oder der Gender Pension Gap weisen etwa darauf hin, dass Verdienste zuungunsten...

Auf dem Arbeitsmarkt bestehen Unterschiede zwischen Männern und Frauen, die in zahlreichen Aspekten zulasten von Frauen gehen: Indikatoren wie der Gender Pay Gap, der Gender Earnings Gap, der Gender Employment Gap oder der Gender Pension Gap weisen etwa darauf hin, dass Verdienste zuungunsten...

Gender equality and economic growth have historically tended to move together yet identifying causal effects has been difficult. This paper uses data on the support for female suffrage in Switzerland in order to explore the impact of technology adoption on gender norms. We argue that the early...

In a context of high polarisation and long-term tensions over advancing gender equality, this report examines how negotiations at the 59th session of the Human Rights Council in June 2025 achieved some key successes, and managed to hold the line on gender rights in the face of backlash. Based in...

The proportion of women on the executive and supervisory boards of Germany's largest private companies has risen considerably since data collection for the DIW Women Executives Barometer began 20 years ago. While it was just over one percent on the executive boards of Germany's 200...

This Focus Note includes illustrative examples from successful initiatives around the world that demonstrate the potential of these strategies—from digital financial solutions that respect privacy concerns to data-driven approaches that challenge institutional biases. Development actors,...

Pluralistic ignorance is a social norms phenomenon in which people mistakenly believe that their personal preferences are not what most people around them support or prefer. This misalignment can lead individuals to adjust their behaviors away from their preferences. Pluralistic ignorance can...

This study is one component of broader World Bank trade facilitation assistance program provided to the government of the Kingdom of Lesotho (hereafter referred as Lesotho). This note presents key findings from the study, which focused on identifying the challenges faced by women owned, led or...

The Turkish government’s declaration of 2025 as the “Year of the Family” reflects an increasingly authoritarian approach to managing demographic decline amid conditions of economic strain. Falling fertility rates are framed as a strategic challenge to national resilience, giving rise to a...

This paper investigates how the historical institutional legacies of the Habsburg and Ottoman empires affect present-day attitudes toward women and minorities in Romania. We conduct a thorough historical analysis which shows that the institutional setup in the Ottoman part of Romania was more...

The fact that women who have the skills, experience, and ability to be considered for promotions opt out of competitions for promotion is not cost-free. It reduces the overall skillset in the pool of applicants. And the underrepresentation of women discourages future generations of women from...

This study investigates the determinants of women empowerment among refugee women living in Nairobi, Kenya. First, the study constructs an index to examine empowerment drivers using data from the Refugee and Host Household Survey (RHHS) 2021. A fractional logit regression model was employed in...

This study investigates whether (and how) working from home (WFH) affects the gender division of parental unpaid labor. I use the recent COVID-19 pandemic that brought an unanticipated yet lasting shift to WFH combined with a measure of occupational WFH feasibility (Alipour et al. 2023) as a...

Corporations are under increasing pressure to align with SDG 5 (Gender Equality), ensuring equal opportunities for women and men in leadership, pay, and career growth. While studies on gender equality are growing, limited research explores the evolutionary paths leading to gender parity. This...

This document presents the main report of the study 'Impact of gender equality plans across the European Research Area'. It analyses recent key policy developments regarding gender equality plans (GEPs) in research and innovation (R&I) organisations at the EU, national and institutional levels....

Directive 79/7/EEC (Directive 79/7) was adopted to ensure equal treatment of men and women in mandatory statutory social security across the EU. It played a significant role in moving away from gendered social security systems (where men were oſten the primary earners) to more equitable models....

Directive 79/7/EEC (Directive 79/7) was adopted to ensure equal treatment of men and women in mandatory statutory social security across the EU. It played a significant role in moving away from gendered social security systems (where men were oſten the primary earners) to more equitable models....

Der Hauptgrund für die chronisch niedrige Erwerbsbeteiligung von Frauen im Vergleich zu Männern ist die "Child Penalty". Das Phänomen beschreibt die beruflichen Nachteile, die Frauen nach der Geburt des ersten Kindes erfahren, während Männer keine Einbußen verzeichnen. Wie beeinflusst...

This study examines the determinants of female labour force participation (FLFP) and female wage employment (FWE) of urban women in four SSA countries: Benin, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia. Using extensive micro-level data and a unified empirical framework, we investigate the multitude of...

The significance of gender equality needs to be spotlighted since women and LGBTQIA* communities are prone to become victims of violence and have limited participation in political and decision-making processes. The approaches of feminist development policies and feminist foreign policies have...

This options paper aims to highlight select evidence-based and innovative options for potential programming that could unlock women's and girls' empowerment through the World Bank's portfolio in Somalia. It is the operational companion to the Gender Policy Note 3 which identifies key challenges...

This study investigates whether (and how) working from home (WFH) affects the gender division of parental unpaid labor. I use the recent COVID-19 pandemic that brought an unanticipated yet lasting shift to WFH combined with a measure of occupational WFH feasibility (Alipour et al. 2023) as a...

This paper reexamines the question of gender differences in financial relative risk aversion using updated methods and data. Specifically, the paper revisits the 1998 work "Are women more risk averse?" by Jianakoplos and Bernasek, suggests refinements in their model in relation to the database...

New ODI research underscores how women's movements are leading the push for democratic governance and inclusion, particularly in contexts of eroding civic space or where democracies are increasingly authoritarian. Yet, they face growing backlash from a rising tide of politicised religion. Based...

This study explores the unique realm of women's entrepreneurial leadership within Stewart's role demands-constraint-choice in Greece. This brings to light the underrepresented role of women entrepreneurs in the country and sets out to fill the literature gap by exploring their distinct...