The World Bank uses a variety of project instruments to support policy reforms and investments that contribute to closing gender gaps across sectors. Through our lending instruments, we aim to improve women's access to jobs, while at the same time enhancing human capital through inclusive services, expanded childcare, and addressing gender-based violence.
Gender in the Middle East and North Africa
Recent Results
Djibouti’s Promoting Women’s and Community Resilience in the Fight Against GBV (P178332) focused on improving girls and women’s access to skills development & livelihoods support; community awareness, mobilization to address GBV in targeted areas and supporting the quality of psychosocial counseling services utilized by GBV survivors.
Egypt: Strengthening Social Safety Nets & AF (P145699; P168414) reached 5 million households equivalent to approximately 20 million individuals (74% of them women) receiving pre-loaded smart cards, across 27 governorates.
Egypt’s Inclusive Housing Finance Program encourages women to use local offices and online processes to apply for housing subsidies, while establishing eligibility criteria prioritizing women-headed households as beneficiaries of ownership & rental subsidies. As a result, Egypt’s female share of housing owners has risen to 20%.
Iraq Social Fund for Development (P163108) included women at community development groups (at least 30%) and the Board of Trustees to develop gender-specific action plans. It revised existing legislation to minimize legal restrictions on FLFP and provided skills training to promote women’s employment.
Jordan Emergency Cash Transfer Covid-19 Response (P173974) responded to issues women faced during the pandemic: vulnerability levels of household heads, access to financial services, and to info about managing household stress and risks of IPV. Using communications campaigns & mixed-mode outreach, it helped beneficiaries register & receive payments digitally.
Jordan: Economic Opportunities for Jordanians and Syrian Refugees & AF (P159522; P171172) included focus on women’s economic opportunities - jobs, access to finance, entrepreneurship. 2,869 new women owned home-based businesses were established; Access to e-wallets and basic accounts by women increased dramatically to over 4 million (from 202k at the start of the program).
Jordan: Youth, Technology, and Jobs Project (P170669) expanded digitally enabled income opportunities through mentorships programs, networks, and skills workshops. At least 3,000 (30%) of beneficiaries of training on employable digital skills thus far are women.
Jordan: Equitable Growth & Job Creation DPLs (P166360, P168130) supported policies on flex work, sexual harassment, codes of conduct in public transport and at the workplace. 70% of companies that adopted flex work arrangements reported higher productivity; 60% reported increase of employment, retention of female employees.
Jordan: Enhancing Women Economic Opportunities in Jordan Operation (P180508)
To address constraints that women face to enter and stay in the labor force related to the workplace conditions, financial inclusion, transportation, and childcare.
Morocco Accelerating the Transformation of Higher Education and Scientific Research Operation (P178910) attracts more female students to STEM careers by tackling information barriers and improving socio-emotional skills of female students. The project provides career guidance through orientation platforms and a graduate tracking employability system disaggregated by gender to update the platform in real time.
Tunisia: Ecotourism and Conservation of Desert Biodiversity (P120561) supported women’s access to economic opportunities in ecotourism, enabling conditions for sustainable land mgt & ecotourism development, supporting implementation of integrated natural resource mgt. 109/230 for-profit microprojects involved managed by women.
Tunisia’s Digital Transformation for User-Centric Public Services (P168425) to increase women’s access to information and digital technology, literacy, and use. It employs communications campaigns, skills workshops and information sessions, and social norms campaigns to sensitize and mainstream women’s digital awareness with the ultimate goal to enhance access to public services.
UAE Gender Center for Excellence and Knowledge Exchange (P178846): In partnership with the UAE’s Gender Balance Council, the UAE-World Bank Gender Center of Excellence was inaugurated in September 2022. This initiative is the first in the MENA region and aims to serve as a platform for knowledge sharing on gender-related matters, enhance public awareness, and assist countries in enacting reforms to foster good gender practices.
Yemen: Emergency Crisis Response Project (P159053) reached 120,339 women with nutrition services and has expanded income support to more than 9 million people, of which at least 30 percent are women.
Yemen: Smallholder Agricultural Production Restoration and Enhancement Project (P162659) supported farmers (30% women) in adopting improved agricultural technology, providing them with assets & services to increase productivity & nutrition of agricultural practices.
Program on Sustainable Fishery Development in Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (P178143) develops women’s skills in restoring/ establishing livelihoods, starting own businesses; micro grants for 30% women entrepreneurs in the fishery value chain; set up subregional fishery governance committees with gender-balanced representation.
West Bank & Gaza’s Cash for Work and Self-Employment Support Program (P167726) promoted paid work opportunities across 23 NGOS resulting in recruitment of 4,084 young people, of which 71% are female.
West Bank & Gaza: Real Estate Registration Project (P168576) enhanced and secured women’s land rights through better access to knowledge about rights and processes related to enhanced tenure security and improved real estate registration services.
Addressing Gender Gaps in all Projects
At project design, all projects are assessed for the gender tag which requires a clear results chain that identifies a specific gender gap, incorporates actions to address this gap, and then making sure the results framework allows for monitoring progress towards the closing of the gap. The tag is applicable for lending projects that go to the Board, and efforts are underway to strengthen the focus on implementation and results.
In addition, project Environmental & Social Frameworks are used as an entry point to strengthen focus on for example preventing and addressing GBV, and to engage women in decision-making.
