Strengthening the Organization

Our Values and Our Staff

The core tenet of our work is respect for our people, our clients, our partners, and our planet. Our Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Index presents further details on the sustainability considerations of our operations and corporate practices and can be accessed online as part of the Annual Report appendixes.

Our Values

Respect, impact, integrity, teamwork, and innovation are our core values. We have prepared an updated Code of Ethics to further embed these values into the Bank Group’s culture and operations. It is a set of principles designed to guide staff to do the right thing when confronted with ethical dilemmas. The Staff Rules continue to define the regulations and policies that guard against misconduct.

Increasing diversity and inclusion. In fiscal 2020, the Bank implemented new indicators to strengthen gender diversity across the institution. Following the successful launch of a virtual reality learning program to address unconscious bias and raise awareness about sexual orientation and gender identity, we developed a new program focused on disability inclusion. We were also recertified under the Economic Dividends through Gender Equality program, which recognizes our efforts to close the gender gap in the workplace.

Action Plan for Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment. The Bank Group is creating a workplace culture that systematically addresses sexual harassment and misconduct. In fiscal 2020, we implemented most recommendations in the 2019–21 action plan to prevent and address sexual harassment and recruited an anti-harassment coordinator to address allegations of harassment and sexual harassment that may not rise to the level of misconduct. The coordinator can caution staff and managers about alleged inappropriate behaviors. The Ethics and Business Conduct (EBC) department also deployed training extensively to help prevent harassment and sexual harassment.

Expanding our global footprint and working in challenging environments. As we work to scale up our footprint in client countries, we expect that 55 percent of Bank staff will be based outside the United States by the mid-2020s. This means having more staff closer to our clients—particularly in countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV)—and empowering teams who work on the front lines. In fiscal 2020, we achieved our IDA18 policy commitment to expand our presence on the ground by 150 staff in low-income countries affected by FCV. We launched a recruitment drive to fill 100 positions in countries affected by FCV, in line with the Bank’s new FCV strategy and our commitment under IDA19 to further increase our footprint in these countries. We are also implementing a revamped approach to career mobility to enable more staff to move across regions, countries, and different parts of our operations; we are developing a new framework for mobility benefits.

Our People

In fiscal 2020, we developed a three-year strategy for the Bank’s nearly 12,300 full-time staff to build a workforce with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time to help solve the world’s pressing development challenges. It seeks to offer the best value to clients and to ensure that our organization is the best place to work in development.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we are providing wide-ranging support to address the needs of our workforce amid the rapid transition to home-based work at headquarters and country offices. Through this support, we have helped ensure business continuity and ongoing support to our clients. Results from a staff survey showed that 90 percent of our staff adjusted well or fairly well to home-based work, and 88 percent reported that they were able to remain fairly productive or very productive during this period. 

The heightened global awareness around racial injustice and systemic racism has sparked valuable discussions about the need to enhance how we value diversity, dignity, respect, and inclusion in our institution. In June 2020, President David Malpass announced the establishment of a World Bank Group Task Force on Racism that will identify areas of action, offer concrete recommendations to address this challenge, and continue to provide a safe space for staff to raise issues and concerns. The Bank Group’s senior leadership team has committed to working closely with all staff to do all we can to end racism in our institution, our programs, and our communities. 

Ensuring staff health and safety. The Bank Group provides an array of programs and services to promote and protect the health and security of staff through services focusing on personal health and wellness, occupational health and safety, and mental health and well-being. In the second half of fiscal 2020, the priority focus shifted to the COVID-19 response (see box, “Supporting our workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic,” on page 77). 

Engaging in continuous learning and skills development. With the Bank Group’s Open Learning Campus (OLC), staff have the opportunity to learn continuously through a broad range of learning resources as they carry out our mission, including online courses, peer-to-peer conversations, and on-the-job learning. In fiscal 2020, this effort grew to support 30 units across the Bank Group, launched a manager’s dashboard for easy access to staff learning indicators, upgraded evaluations for mentoring and on-the-job activities, and released a personalized version of OLC with curated learning paths.

Implementing the Knowledge Management Action Plan. To enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness, we updated our internal solutions to better identify in-house expertise and recruit external consultants. We have revised our content management approach and conducted comprehensive analyses to address wider issues in knowledge management. We developed effective collaboration networks to build successful communities of practice through training, advising, and customized technical assistance.

Safe place for staff to address concerns and conflicts. EBC addresses and investigates allegations of misconduct. A new anti-harassment coordinator position was set up within the unit to prevent and address all types of harassment in the institution. In fiscal 2020, 1,291 queries were answered in less than 8 working hours on average. Through our Internal Justice Services, staff have channels to seek advice, guidance, and resources to resolve conflicts, including Ombuds Services, Respectful Workplace Advisors, Mediation, Peer Review Services, and Performance Management Review. These services facilitate a respectful, values-driven, and ethics-based workplace culture; in fiscal 2020, about 1,750 staff approached them for advice.

Representing staff voice. The World Bank Group Staff Association represents the rights and interests of staff and consultants to senior management and the Board. In fiscal 2020, it relayed concerns about organizational changes, challenges posed by the amended compensation methodology, health coverage policies, and occupational health matters. It created a website for health insurance coverage for headquarters-based short-term temporaries and consultants, as well as working groups on staff disability and environmental sustainability. To strengthen its country office network, the association hosted representatives from over 80 countries at a forum in October 2019. 

Our Places

Strengthening environmental commitment in our own operations. The Bank Group manages the environmental, social, and economic impacts of its internal business operations by striving for net positive impacts on the ecosystems, communities, and economies where we have offices. We measure, reduce, offset, and report on emissions from our facilities, major meetings, and business travel. In fiscal 2020, we signed the Cool Food Pledge, committing to reduce food-related emissions from cafeterias, coffee bars, and catering operations at headquarters by 25 percent by 2030. A headquarters-wide waste system instituted in fiscal 2019 significantly increased waste diversion in the affected buildings. The Bank Group has committed to reducing its facilities-related emissions by 28 percent by 2026. To maximize our facilities’ operational efficiency, we commissioned a series of audits for buildings at headquarters, including for water, waste, and energy, as well as in country offices, starting with two of our larger offices, in Chennai, India, and Nairobi, Kenya. Carbon emissions that are not reduced are offset through a portfolio of Carbon Emissions Reductions. The Bank also purchases Renewable Energy Certificates equivalent to 100 percent of our headquarters electricity use. Details are available in the Carbon Disclosure Project disclosures.

Our Supply Chain

Building a sustainable supply chain. The Bank Group’s Sustainable Procurement Framework integrates sustainability throughout our corporate procurement process. It addresses the environmental, social, and economic impacts of our purchases while identifying opportunities to align corporate spending with operational priorities, such as gender, climate change, and addressing FCV. In fiscal 2020, we continued to make progress toward the goal of doubling corporate procurement from women-owned businesses to 7 percent of our total procurement spend by 2023. In fiscal 2020, 4 percent of this was with women-owned businesses. In addition, we launched the Minority Business Enterprise Program, aimed at boosting engagement with our local community by enhancing the support to local minority-owned businesses.

World Bank (IBRD/IDA) Staff Data, Fiscal 2018–20

Supporting our workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic 

In response to COVID-19, we implemented measures to protect our global workforce, including health and safety support, financial assistance, and flexible remote work policies, with a focus on staff and dependents in vulnerable locations. Efforts included: 

• An online hub for staff to access up-to-date information and guidance on the pandemic, including information for country offices.
• Access to health and safety advice, including tracing and counseling of confirmed cases and potential contacts for staff who contracted the illness, as well as support through virtual appointments and services through an onsite external provider.
• An off-site testing location through an external provider for staff at headquarters who have symptoms. 
• Financial support for staff and consultants seeking medical treatment or advice, including advance payments and an emergency loan program for staff.
• For staff affected by the pandemic, assistance in case management, risk assessment, and professional guidance and advice, in coordination with country offices as needed. 
• Extensive psychosocial support, including webinars, counseling sessions, and peer-support groups, to help staff cope with stress and anxiety.
• Upward of 800,000 face masks and other personal protective equipment for staff in Bank Group offices, as well as help for those struggling to access prescription medications. 
• Monitoring of scenarios that could result in domestic violence, with enhanced resources to address unsafe situations for staff or their families. 
• Remote support for staff to set up an ergonomic home office.
• Access to the dedicated UN medical evacuation initiative, in close cooperation with interagency partners.

We have developed preparedness plans and risk-management guidance for offices and processes, including guidance for safe reopening. The Staff Association also provided financial assistance to members in need, helping reduce their financial burdens from economic shocks. The OLC launched virtual training options for clients on health, social protection, jobs, and economic growth and offered fully virtual courses for staff as they transitioned to home-based work. 

In line with our fiduciary obligations, we facilitated sound commercial and risk-management decisions for corporate procurement and vendor management, including special measures to ensure supply chain continuity and fair treatment of vendors during COVID-19. As we shifted to home-based work, we continued paying our contractors to mitigate hardship and ensure they can return to work when normal operations resume. 

Looking ahead, we are developing a plan to enable the safe and gradual return to the workplace at headquarters and country offices, taking into account local conditions and guidelines, ensuring appropriate health measures and safeguards, and recognizing the individual circumstances of staff.

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