Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality

UFGE Grants Around the World

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UFGE is Driving Implementation of the World Bank Group (WBG) Gender Strategy (2024-2030)

UFGE-supported evidence played a key role in shaping the WBG’s Gender Strategy (2024–2030) and is the funding platform supporting its implementation at the country level.

In 2025, UFGE launched four targeted programs to accelerate delivery of the Gender Strategy.

Gender Strategy Fast-Track Country Initiative

UFGE is supporting coordinated, country-led engagement as One WBG across an initial set of 16 Fast-Track countries—Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, India, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, and Viet Nam— where joint planning, strong analytics, and evidence-based interventions are accelerating the translation of the WBG Gender Strategy into tangible country-level impact.

Behavioral Science and Social Norms Program

The Behavioral Science and Social Norms Program advances evidence and operational solutions to shift harmful norms around women’s economic participation and violence against women and girls, embedding behavior change approaches in WBG operations.

Integrating Gender Analysis in Country Core Diagnostics and Macro-Fiscal Policies Program

UFGE support facilitates the integration of gender analysis into WBG core country diagnostics, including the Country Growth and Jobs Reports (CGJRs), Public Finance Reviews (PFRs), Systematic Country Diagnostics (SCDs), Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs), Poverty and Equity Assessments (PEAs), and Country Private Sector Diagnostics (CPSDs) which form the analytical foundation for the Country Partnership Frameworks (CPFs), to help countries design growth and jobs strategies and address critical fiscal policy challenges through policy reform.

Gender, Climate, and Jobs Program

The Gender, Climate, and Jobs Program positions countries to pursue climate solutions, linking climate resilience with economic opportunities for women.

Our Progress and Impact in FY25

In FY25, UFGE allocated approximately $8.98 million across its four pillars to support 45 new grants, bringing the total number of active grants to 72.

New Operational Grants (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025)

Africa

Grant name	Scope	Intended impact
Reduction of Gender- Based Violence in Cameroon	Cameroon	Evaluates two innovative interventions to reduce intimate partner violence in Cameroon’s Social Safety Nets Project: a couples training program and a radio drama edutainment series. The impact evaluation measures changes in intimate partner violence incidence, relationship quality, gender norms, decision-making power, and household economic outcomes. UFGE funding supports endline data collection, advanced data analysis, and dissemination of findings to inform national policy and global social safety net programs. The results will provide critical insights on how to integrate IPV prevention into cash transfer programs to strengthen household resilience and gender equality.
Côte d'Ivoire and Togo Gender Strategy Fast-Track Country Program	Côte d'Ivoire and Togo	Advances women’s financial and economic inclusion in Côte d’Ivoire and Togo by integrating gender priorities into World Bank Group programs and strengthening policy engagement. The project will expand livelihood opportunities for poor and vulnerable women through income-generation activities, access to land, and tailored digital and financial literacy training. It will develop and test innovative digital financial products, assess platforms for services such as micro-lending and insurance, and will share lessons through knowledge events. These efforts will inform national strategies and scale effective solutions for inclusive economic growth.
Creating Pathways for Eastern and Southern Africa Women Entrepreneurs in Distributed Renewable Energy Sector	Eastern and Southern Africa	Identifies barriers to entry, growth, and sustainability for women entrepreneurs in the distributed renewable energy sector and documents evidence-based solutions. The project will produce a toolkit for development practitioners to design effective gender interventions that increase women’s participation in clean energy markets. It will collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data on women-led enterprises engaged in energy generation, supply, storage, and asset management. Learning events and policy dialogue will inform supportive legal frameworks and enhance women’s role in advancing clean, affordable energy access and climate resilience.
Promoting the Scalability of a Couples Training Program Tackling Social Norms in Mauritania	Mauritania	Supports the Government of Mauritania in scaling up a gender-transformative Family Dialogue program within its national cash transfer system. Building on a nationwide pilot that engaged couples in training sessions on financial management, communication, and shared household responsibilities, the grant will synthesize policy lessons, provide technical assistance for implementation, and complete a rigorous impact evaluation. Activities include producing a policy brief, an implementation case study, and a research paper to guide future integration of cost-effective models into the Mauritania Safety Net program.
The Impact of Social Norms on Young Women’s Decision to Pursue Post-Secondary Education and TVET in Maputo	Mozambique	Examines how social norms influence young women’s decisions to pursue post-secondary education, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), and male-dominated occupations in Maputo. It will collect qualitative and quantitative data from students, families, educators, and employers to understand barriers such as aspirations, job preferences, and perceived role models. Based on the findings, the project will prototype one or two feasible solutions, drawing on approaches such as informational campaigns, socio-emotional skills training, or gender-sensitive workplace policies. The results will guide the design of targeted interventions to expand young women’s participation in higher-paying technical and vocational sectors.
Fast-Tracking the WBG Gender Strategy in Mozambique	Mozambique	Accelerates the integration of research, innovation, and capacity building into World Bank operations in Mozambique to improve gender outcomes, with a strong focus on gender-based violence) prevention and response. The project will draw on evidence from the Africa Gender Innovation Lab and the East Africa Girls' Empowerment and Resilience Program Evidence Hub to inform project design, address implementation bottlenecks, and strengthen PIU capacity. Activities include scaling up country-driven GBV approaches, integrating proven interventions during preparation, and delivering targeted technical assistance during implementation. These efforts will enhance service provision, particularly in schools, and expand women’s skills, human capital, and economic opportunities.
Unboxing the Black Box: Understanding Norms around Women’s Work in East and Southern Africa	Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe	Investigates how social norms and gatekeepers influence young women’s participation in market work and occupational choice in Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The project uses a lab-in-the-field study to test how the presence of parents, partners, or community members affects women’s attitudes toward higher-earning or male-dominated jobs and training programs. It also examines the impact of passive and participatory information campaigns on shifting perceptions and increasing interest in these opportunities. Findings will guide policy dialogue, operational strategies, and regional programs, including the East Africa Girls' Empowerment and Resilience Program Multi-Phased Programmatic Approach, to expand women’s economic opportunities.
Empower Rural Women Through Edutainment under the Nigeria for Women Program Scale Up Project: Shifting Social Norms for Gender Equality	Nigeria	Uses edutainment to raise awareness about harmful gender and cultural norms, promote dialogue, and reinforce positive social and behavior change messages under the Nigeria for Women Program Scale Up Project. The project will design and implement interventions that empower rural women socioeconomically, drawing on behavioral science to shift perceptions and behaviors that limit women’s economic participation. It will evaluate message retention, behavioral impacts, and the effectiveness of edutainment as a tool for advancing gender equality in economic life. Findings will be disseminated to scale up successful approaches and inform policy dialogue and stakeholder engagement in Nigeria.
Somalia Flood and Drought Gender and Climate Response	Somalia	Strengthens resilience of rural pastoralist communities in Somalia by assessing gender-differentiated vulnerability to floods and droughts. Collects empirical and climate data, conducts interviews and surveys, and develops a vulnerability map to inform targeted disaster risk reduction measures. Explores innovative financial instruments, including bundled drought–flood coverage, parametric microloans for women, and adaptive savings products to support recovery and resilience. Delivers policy-relevant evidence and stakeholder engagement to integrate gender-sensitive strategies into climate adaptation and financial inclusion programs.
Promoting Gender Equality and Decarbonization in Dodoma’s Urban Transport	Tanzania	Collects quantitative and qualitative data to understand women’s economic activity, mobility patterns, and transport choices in Dodoma. The project assesses barriers to safe and affordable public transport and engages government stakeholders to integrate findings into the city’s Integrated Transport Master Plan and Urban Master Plan review. It develops actionable recommendations for gender-responsive transport and land-use policies that promote accessibility, safety, and sustainability. The grant will produce an analytical report, policy brief, and open-access data set to inform operations such as the Dodoma Integrated and Sustainable Transport Project and guide similar initiatives in other cities.

East Asia and the Pacific

Grant name	Scope	Intended Impact
East Asia and Pacific Gender Innovation Lab	East Asia and Pacific	Generates evidence to inform policy and programs by supporting impact evaluations on care services, gender and climate, livelihoods, social norms, and women’s leadership. It will co-fund up to four of these evaluations and undertake inferential and qualitative research to deepen understanding of women’s economic empowerment and frontier issues. It will strengthen measurement of women’s economic empowerment within evaluation data collection and pilot innovative add-on interventions targeting barriers in priority areas. It will ensure research uptake and influence on programs by disseminating findings through policy briefs, publications, events, and workshops.
Inclusive Climate Finance in Indonesia	Indonesia	Promotes inclusive community engagement and equitable benefits sharing in large-scale forest and landscape management programs in Indonesia, with a focus on indigenous women. The project will identify and assess innovative, gender-sensitive approaches used by civil society organizations, local groups, and government programs, including mechanisms for Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. It will share best practices and tools with World Bank teams and government agencies to strengthen participation in forest governance and access to carbon benefits. Findings will inform future operations in forestry and other sectors, supporting scalable, gender-equitable climate solutions.
Integrating Gender into Growth and Jobs Analysis in Samoa	Samoa	Integrates in-depth gender analysis into Samoa’s Growth and Jobs Study to examine the links between female labor force participation, migration patterns, and inclusive economic opportunities. The project will assess the long-term growth impacts of closing gender gaps, analyze barriers to women’s employment, and explore sector-specific productivity differences. Using tailored macroeconomic and labor market models suited for small island states, it will identify legal and policy reforms to improve gender equality, drawing on Women, Business and the Law indicators. Findings will inform actionable policy recommendations and provide transferable tools for similar analyses in other small economies.
Integrating Gender into Growth and Jobs Analysis in Tonga	Tonga	Embeds a gender lens into Tonga’s Growth and Jobs Study to examine structural and policy barriers limiting women’s participation in the labor market. The analysis will investigate drivers of low female labor force participation, legal and regulatory gaps, and sector-specific productivity constraints while assessing the economic gains from greater gender equality. It will apply tailored macroeconomic and labor market models suited for small island states and explore reforms to expand women’s access to decent work, assets, and enabling services such as childcare. Insights will guide policy recommendations for the Tonga Strategic Development Framework 2025–2035 and strengthen gender integration in national economic planning.

Europe and Central Asia

Grant name	Scope	Intended Impact
She Wins Climate	Central Asia	Supports research to advance women-led climate start-ups by increasing investment readiness and financing opportunities. The project will develop knowledge products analyzing data from program activities to assess feasibility and desirability for replication and scale. It will produce a publication with insights to guide the International Finance Corporation, investors, and entrepreneurship support organizations in expanding support for women-led climate ventures. Dissemination through learning sessions, events, and market outreach It will raise awareness and foster partnerships to grow women’s entrepreneurship in climate-related sectors by disseminating findings through learning sessions, events, and market outreach.
Europe and Central Asia Gender Innovation Lab	Europe and Central Asia	Advances gender equality in the Europe and Central Asia region by generating and applying evidence on what works to promote women’s economic empowerment and prevent gender-based violence. Over the next year, the Lab will design and launch rigorous impact evaluations, publish research outputs, and produce country evidence snapshots. It will support operations through workshops, strategic monitoring, innovation stories, and tailored theories of change. These efforts will equip policy makers and project teams with scalable, evidence-based solutions to integrate gender priorities into programs across sectors.
Gender-Informed Analysis for the Georgia Country Climate and Development Report	Georgia	Integrates gender dimensions into Georgia’s Country Climate and Development Report by strengthening climate governance assessments and labor market analysis. The project will enhance the Country Climate Institutional Assessment with gender-responsive benchmarking, building on Georgia’s concurrent climate and gender budget tagging reforms. It will also examine gender-specific barriers to occupational mobility in the transition to a low-carbon economy, using labor market frictions analysis and microdata. Findings will inform just transition policies that expand women’s participation in climate-critical sectors and improve equitable labor market outcomes.
Integrating Gender Analysis in the Kazakhstan Public Finance Review Volume II	Kazakhstan	Integrates gender analysis into Kazakhstan’s Public Finance Review to assess how fiscal policies, public investments, procurement, and state support to firms impact men and women differently. The work will apply a gender lens to the macro-fiscal framework using the Commitment to Equity (CEQ) model and propose a gender-responsive public financial management framework. It will also examine gender dimensions of state support to firms and analyze recent tax code amendments. Consultations with entrepreneurs, policy makers, and other stakeholders will inform recommendations to promote equity in public spending and policy reforms.
Gender and Climate Nexus	Moldova	Integrates gender analysis into the final stage of the Moldova Country Climate and Development Report to inform priority investments and policy design. The grant will gather qualitative data through key informant interviews and focus groups, along with desk research. These data will identify opportunities for women’s participation in green jobs and climate-relevant sectors such as agriculture, renewable energy, water, and disaster risk management. Findings will be shared with government, development partners, and operational teams to strengthen gender-responsive climate action in Moldova.
Closing the Gender Gap to Support Inclusive Growth	North Macedonia	Integrates gender-based analysis into North Macedonia’s Country Economic Memorandum to identify and address barriers to women’s labor force participation. The study will examine demand- and supply-side constraints—including labor regulations, skills, childcare availability, and socio-cultural norms—using a range of national and international data sets. It will model the economywide impacts of closing gender gaps in participation, employment, and compensation, estimating potential gains in gross domestic product per capita and changes in fiscal spending. Findings will inform targeted policy recommendations to embed gender equality in the country’s growth and job creation strategy.
Integrating Gender into the Serbia Public Finance Review	Serbia	Integrates gender analysis into Serbia’s Public Finance Review to assess how fiscal policies, public spending, and revenue systems affect women and men differently. The work will examine links between low female labor force participation, care responsibilities, and long-term fiscal sustainability alongside gender gaps in wages, pensions, and informality. It will also analyze sectoral employment patterns, tax burdens, and the impacts of green transition policies on women’s economic opportunities. Findings will inform policy dialogue and reform recommendations to promote gender-equitable fiscal policy in the context of European Union accession and sustainable growth.
Women's Economic Empowerment in Tajikistan	Tajikistan	Expands economic opportunities for women in Tajikistan through policy reforms, livelihood pilots, and digital job initiatives. Leverages Development Policy Operations to close legal gaps and pilots green jobs and socioeconomic resilience programs for rural women. Delivers behavior change campaigns targeting social norms in water and energy sectors alongside digital economy pilots to increase women’s participation. Captures and disseminates lessons learned to strengthen gender equality and inform future policy and program design.
Gender in the Tajikistan Growth and Jobs Report	Tajikistan	Integrates gender analysis into Tajikistan’s Growth and Jobs Report to identify labor market barriers and design reforms that promote inclusive economic growth. The project will assess macroeconomic gains from increasing female labor force participation, using economic modeling to simulate potential impacts on growth. It will examine micro-level drivers of gender gaps, including education, skills, sectoral employment patterns, and unpaid agricultural work, and explore strategies to help women transition to more diverse forms of employment. Findings will provide evidence-based recommendations for policy and investment supported by reproducible tools to guide future gender analysis in the country.
Understanding Gender Specific Impacts of Climate Change and Climate Policies at the Macro and Micro Level in Türkiye	Türkiye	Closes critical knowledge gaps on how climate change and related policies affect women and men differently across Türkiye. It will produce gender-disaggregated socioeconomic and climate vulnerability data at the provincial level, strengthen macro- and micro-modeling to assess labor market and welfare impacts, and examine female labor force participation as a mitigation lever. The work includes product space analysis to identify green sector diversification opportunities and assess their potential for women’s employment. It will deliver data sets, models, analytical notes, and capacity-building sessions to inform national strategies and operational projects.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Grant name	Scope	Intended impact
Understanding Social Norms to Prevent GBV among Adolescents in the Chiquitania Region of Bolivia	Bolivia	Seeks to reduce gender-based violence (GBV) and shift unequal gender attitudes among adolescents in Bolivia’s Chiquitania region. The project will conduct a baseline study, carry out a process evaluation, and document the scale-up of a successful pilot intervention focused on comprehensive sexuality education and economic empowerment. Activities will train young leaders and teachers; strengthen adolescent-friendly health services; and foster coordination among schools, health centers, justice actors, and communities. The findings will contribute to the global evidence base on comprehensive sexuality education as a scalable approach to improving sexual and reproductive health and preventing GBV.
Changing Social Norms to Prevent Gender-Based Violence in the Brazilian Amazon and Pantanal: Promoting Better Data and Innovative Approaches in the Classroom	Brazil	Supports efforts to transform schools in Pará and Mato Grosso into safe spaces that challenge harmful gender norms and prevent gender-based violence. The project will develop a data-collection toolkit to measure gendered social norms and design a behavioral school-based intervention that pilots it in selected schools. It will train teachers, engage students and parents, and launch a bottom-up communication campaign to promote positive change. These activities will strengthen socioemotional skills, reduce GBV risk, and contribute to improved learning and social protection in vulnerable communities.
One World Bank Group Gender Strategy in Mexico	Mexico	Strengthens Mexico’s institutional capacity to advance gender equality and prevent gender-based violence through technical assistance, policy research, and capacity building for the Ministry of Women. The project will partner with financial institutions to address financial abuse, promote safe workplace practices, and expand women’s access to credit and tailored financial products, including exploring participation in the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code. It will collaborate with multiple World Bank Global Practices to support the national care system, encourage employer-supported care, and promote family-friendly workplace policies. These efforts align with the World Bank Group Gender Strategy 2024–2030 and leverage Mexico’s current political momentum for comprehensive gender reforms.
Gender Analysis in Peru Public Finance Review	Peru	Integrates gender analysis into Peru’s Public Finance Review to strengthen structural reform as well as fiscal and trade policy recommendations. The project will assess gender gaps in the public sector wage bill, conduct a health sector deep dive on wage disparities and differential treatment of patients, and evaluate the efficiency of public spending in addressing gender inequality. It will pilot a gender efficiency framework in collaboration with key ministries, creating tools and best practices for broader application. Findings and training activities will inform policy dialogue and promote the systematic inclusion of gender considerations in government planning and budgeting.
Empowering Indigenous Women in the Amazon: Engaging with Carbon Market and Shaping Policy Dialogue in Peru	Peru	Empowers Indigenous women in the Peruvian Amazon to participate in voluntary carbon markets and influence climate policy. The project will identify legal, technical, and financial barriers to inclusion, strengthen indigenous-led dialogue platforms, and foster multistakeholder engagement with government, private sector, and development partners. It will deliver culturally tailored training in indigenous languages on carbon markets, benefit-sharing mechanisms, and the application of traditional ecological knowledge. Findings and policy recommendations will promote gender-equitable participation in climate finance at national and international levels.

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan

Grant Name	Scope	Intended Impact
Enhancing Social Resilience and Adaptive Strategies to Address Climate Shocks in Afghanistan	Afghanistan	Strengthens understanding of how climate-induced internal displacement and climate change affect women, girls, and children in Afghanistan. The project will analyze impacts on health, nutrition, livelihoods, and social cohesion in the context of climate-resilient agriculture and water sectors. It will identify strategies to enhance resilience and mitigate risks, with a focus on gender-sensitive solutions. Findings will inform investment opportunities and guide policy makers in integrating gender considerations into future project designs.
Female Labor Force Participation in the operationalizing of the new Poverty Reduction Strategy	Iraq	Integrates targeted gender priorities into Iraq’s new Poverty Reduction Strategy under the Mashreq Gender Facility 2.0. The project will focus specifically on embedding actionable measures to raise female labor force participation within Iraq’s national poverty reduction framework. Activities will include policy and regulatory analysis, multistakeholder consultations, and strategies to address employment barriers such as childcare shortages and digital exclusion. This work will ensure the strategy directly supports women’s economic empowerment as part of broader poverty alleviation goals.
Iraq and Mashreq Gender Facility: Women's Economic Opportunities	Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon	Supports the Mashreq Gender Facility 2.0 in promoting women’s economic participation in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon through data-driven policy and multistakeholder engagement. The initiative will work with public and private sector partners to create a more enabling social, regulatory, and policy environment for women’s economic activities. It will enhance women’s access to private sector jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities by addressing barriers such as childcare availability and digital inclusion. These efforts aim to expand female labor force participation and strengthen women’s role in economic growth across the Mashreq region.
Jordan and Mashreq Gender Facility - Women's Economic Opportunities	Jordan	Supports Jordan’s engagement under the Mashreq Gender Facility 2.0 to advance women’s economic participation through targeted policy, regulatory, and private sector actions. The initiative will provide technical assistance for implementing key measures under the Economic Opportunities for Women Program-for-Results operation, including legal reforms, childcare expansion, and behavioral change campaigns to boost childcare subsidy uptake. It will also strengthen partnerships, generate and disseminate data, and promote private sector practices that increase women’s access to jobs and entrepreneurship.
Enhancing Fathers’ Parental Involvement in Lebanon through Community Engagement	Lebanon	Pilots a community-based parenting program to promote greater father engagement in Lebanon. Targeting fathers of pre-adolescent children, the initiative will use sports clubs, municipalities, and nongovernmental organizations to deliver a behaviorally informed curriculum that builds skills for active parenting, encourages shared domestic responsibilities, and challenges gender role stereotypes. Partnerships with professional sports clubs will bring visible male role models into activities, while social and behavior change communication will reinforce habits through community events and digital engagement. The pilot will inform future scale-up and potential impact evaluation.
Lebanon and Mashreq Gender Facility: Women's Economic Opportunities	Lebanon	Implements Lebanon’s Mashreq Gender Facility work plan to expand women’s economic participation through legal, policy, and private sector reforms. Activities include a national care economy assessment to identify opportunities for job creation and workforce participation, removal of legal barriers to women’s employment, and promotion of women’s leadership via Women on Boards training. The program will incentivize family-friendly workplace policies, conduct gender diversity workshops with employers, produce case studies on best practices, and launch the Employer of Choice for Gender Balance awards. It will also strengthen gender data, integrate gender perspectives into national strategies, and run behavioral change campaigns to address gender stereotypes.
Country Economic Memorandum	Morocco	Analyzes women’s labor market integration in Morocco through a gender-focused Country Economic Memorandum. The grant will support diagnostics on female labor force participation trends, macroeconomic and Computable General Equilibrium modeling to assess policy impacts, analysis of constraints for women-led enterprises, and a mixed-method study of manufacturing subsectors. The work will also examine sectoral dynamics, human capital accumulation, and gender gaps in education to better understand barriers to women’s economic participation. Findings will inform policy dialogue and operational strategies to expand women’s economic opportunities.
Promoting Women's Economic Inclusion	Morocco	Supports Morocco’s multisectoral efforts to increase female labor force participation through policy analysis, technical assistance, and evidence-based reform design. The grant will generate gender-sensitive labor market analysis and inform reforms on gender-based violence, workplace equality, and financial inclusion. It will also provide targeted support to implement the national Women’s Economic Inclusion initiative across childcare, transport, workplace conditions, and digital and financial inclusion. Activities include joint analytical work with government institutions, development of measurable actions, and capacity building to strengthen implementation and monitoring.
Empowering Her Future: Shifting Norms to Fuel Female University Students Access to Jobs and Economic Engagement	Morocco and Tunisia	Pilots university-based interventions to support female students’ transition from education to employment in Morocco and Tunisia. Building on recent survey findings on aspirations, social norms, and perceived community support, the program will deliver targeted mentorship, coaching, and career guidance through university career centers. Activities will be tailored by field of study, socioeconomic group, and location, and designed in partnership with higher education institutions, government counterparts, and the private sector, including potential collaboration with the International Finance Corporation’s Vision 2030 on Gender and Inclusion. A process evaluation will inform dissemination of results to ministries and stakeholders with the aim of integrating successful approaches into future operations.

Global

Grant Name	Intended Impact
Climate Equity in Action: Enhancing and Operationalizing Climate Vulnerability Framework to Account for Gender-Differentiated Impacts	Enhances the Bank’s climate vulnerability framework by integrating gender-specific indicators and addressing structural inequalities that heighten risk. The project will compile a database to track disparities in exposure, resilience, and coping capacity over time and across countries. It will also pilot gender-disaggregated data collection in one country, with potential scale-up to four additional countries. These efforts will provide policy makers with actionable evidence to design equitable and inclusive climate resilience strategies.
Gender and Climate Change	Strengthens awareness, knowledge, and capacity for gender-informed policy making on the gender–climate nexus. The project will support UFGE grant reviews, update guidance for integrating gender–climate considerations into Country Climate and Development Reports, and advance methodological innovations in macro-modeling. It will contribute to knowledge management through learning clinics, events, and dissemination of best practices on topics such as green jobs and macro-fiscal gender–climate analysis. These activities will equip practitioners, partners, and clients with actionable tools to integrate gender and climate priorities into programs and policies.
Innovations to Improve Design and Analysis of Household Surveys	Develops innovative survey methods and international standards for household data collection in low- and middle-income countries. The project will conduct methodological research on priority themes related to job creation, adaptive capacity, and socioeconomic resilience. Activities include reviewing existing data and methods, implementing methodological studies, and producing open-access research publications. Results will strengthen the quality and comparability of household survey data to better inform policy and program design.
Model-Based Analytics to Empower Women and Girls in Climate Policy	Integrates a gender lens into the World Bank’s MINDSET macroeconomic model to align climate action with women’s economic empowerment. The grant will develop cross-country data sets linking gender, employment, and economic sectors; enhance MINDSET to disaggregate labor demand and supply by gender; and analyze how climate policies and enabling measures (such as childcare, transport, and legal reforms) affect women’s participation in resilient, low-carbon jobs. Results will be embedded in core World Bank diagnostics such as Climate Change Development Reports, with targeted capacity building to support operational uptake and policy design that jointly advances climate resilience and gender equality.
Pathways to Mainstreaming Gender in Climate Policy and Finance: Insights from National Climate Commitments	Analyzes gender integration in Nationally Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plans, and National Mitigation Plans and identifies successful actions for implementing gender-responsive climate policies. The project will recommend strategies to improve women’s access to decision-making, climate finance, and mitigation activities, channeling these into the World Bank’s results-based climate finance projects. It will deliver capacity strengthening and peer learning dialogues for government agencies implementing the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, the Scaling Climate Action by Lowering Emissions partnership, and the Global Program on Sustainability for PROGREEN. Findings will be disseminated through a flagship event and communications materials to promote inclusive climate action.
The Gendered Impact of Climate Change on Global Poverty	Assesses how climate change affects poverty differently for women and men by combining artificial intelligence and machine learning tools with global household data. The project will impute individual-level consumption to estimate gender-disaggregated poverty and model the effects of climate change on gross domestic product, inequality, and welfare distribution. It will compare actual and climate-adjusted scenarios to quantify the number of women and men living in poverty as a result of global warming. Findings will be shared through working papers, databases, and policy outreach to inform evidence-based climate and poverty strategies.

South Asia

Grant Name	Scope	Intended Impact
Bringing Work Home: Effects of an Entrepreneurship Skills Experiment in India	India	Supports an impact evaluation in Tamil Nadu, India, to assess the effects of a Personal Initiative training program on vulnerable entrepreneurs. Using a gender-stratified experimental design, the study examines impacts on entrepreneurial confidence, growth mindset, perseverance, leadership, access to finance, and firm growth. It also investigates whether the intervention can shift social norms on women’s work and household roles, including decision-making power and resource allocation. Findings will inform policies and programs through policy briefs, working papers, and dissemination events with World Bank teams, government counterparts, and regional gender platforms.

New Impact Evaluations (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025)

Africa

Name of Impact Evaluation	Country	Description
Can Local Service Providers Improve Women’s Socio-Emotional Skills and Mental Health?	Côte d'Ivoire	This study evaluates the Active Listening Capacity Program, which trains hairdressers through a three-day workshop led by medical professionals and monthly psychologist-led sessions over six months. The program equips hairdressers to provide first-line psychological and socio-emotional support. It seeks to improve women’s mental health, socio-emotional skills, and economic empowerment.
Gender-Transformative and Parenting Couple Training in Rural Community Childcare Centers	Côte d'Ivoire	This evaluation assesses the pilot of childcare and formal preschool services in community nutrition centers, combined with support for mothers’ income-generating activities and gender-transformative couples training. The study examines how this package of interventions influences women’s empowerment. It also evaluates effects on child development for ages 0–5 and the broader welfare of fathers and older siblings.
Girls’ Learning and Empowerment Project	Democratic Republic of Congo	This evaluation analyzes two school-based interventions: Girls’ Clubs that deliver a 10-month gender-training curriculum and a Whole School Approach to build a safe and inclusive learning environment. The Girls’ Clubs focus on rights, socio-emotional skills, and self-defense against gender-based violence. The evaluation measures how these approaches reduce school-based violence and promote girls’ empowerment.
Impacts of Revenue-Based Financing on Women’s Businesses	Ethiopia	This evaluation tests the effectiveness of revenue-based financing, offered through the Cooperative Bank of Oromia, as a tool for supporting promising women-owned businesses that lack collateral. Women track revenue via a mobile app and are randomly assigned to receive either a revenue-based loan, a standard loan, or continued tracking only. The study measures outcome effects on business performance, access to credit, and profitability.
Large Individual Liability Loans for Former Group Loan Clients	Ethiopia	In partnership with Meklit Microfinance, this evaluation tests the offering of uncollateralized individual credit lines to former group loan clients using a novel credit scoring system. It measures loan take-up, business outcomes, and household well-being. The study also compares financial performance with that of standard group loans.
Strengthening Productive Safety Nets	Ethiopia	The SPIR-II evaluation examines a package of interventions in Amhara and Oromia, including livelihood grants, village savings groups, nurturing care groups, and maternal cash grants. The interventions target poor households to improve livelihoods and promote behavioral change. The study assesses how these combined programs reduce maternal and child malnutrition.
Transfer to Women in Married Households in Productive Safety Net Program	Ethiopia	This evaluation tests shifting public works payments in the Productive Safety Net Program from men to women, paired with training and social behavioral change communication. The intervention is implemented in four pillars to compare different approaches. The study assesses impacts on intra-household dynamics, gender roles, and women’s empowerment.
Providing Digital Training to Practicing Midwives Accessible Offline	Mali	This evaluation tests whether offline-accessible digital training delivered through a mobile app can improve midwives’ clinical knowledge and patient care in areas with limited access to on-the-job training. It also examines how midwives use and adopt the tool in practice. The intervention is implemented under the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Plus initiative.
From Information to Action	Nigeria	This study evaluates the delivery of personalized, real-time agricultural advice through interactive voice response based on remote sensing. The tailored and accessible approach is designed to increase agricultural productivity. The evaluation also examines how it improves equitable access to actionable information within households.
Nigeria for Women Scale-Up Socio-Emotional Skills” ?	Nigeria	This evaluation investigates socio-emotional skills training and a social norms intervention, tested individually and in combination. The interventions aim to strengthen women’s empowerment in household decision-making. The study also measures impacts on women’s participation in income-generating activities.

East Asia and Pacific

Name of Impact Evaluation	Country	Description
Innovations in Childcare for Social Inclusion	Indonesia	This evaluation tests how improved community-based childcare services influence women’s work and agency, children’s development, and household outcomes. It also examines whether childcare services on their own are sufficient to enable women in rural areas to work. The study further assesses the added value of combining childcare with complementary livelihood support.

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan

Name of Impact Evaluation	Country	Description
Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of the Widows’ Savings and Loans Association Ptogram in Egypt	Egypt	Implemented by the Global Fund for Widows, the Widows’ Savings and Loans Association program provides female heads of household with collective savings groups and training in legal, business, and financial skills. This randomized controlled trial evaluates the program’s impact on income-generating activity, poverty reduction, and women’s economic empowerment. The study also examines whether the program can address structural vulnerabilities faced by widows and be replicated in other countries in the region.
Tahweesha Randomized Controlled Trial Endline – Modernizing Traditional Village Savings and Loan Associations through Digital Banking	Egypt	The Tahweesha program, implemented by the National Council for Women with the Central Bank of Egypt, modernizes traditional Village Savings and Loan Associations by digitizing transactions through bank accounts, prepaid cards, and a mobile application. This approach reduces the risks of cash-based systems and creates new pathways to financial inclusion for Egyptian women. The World Bank Middle East and North Africa Gender Innovation Lab and the Jameel Poverty Action Lab Middle East and North Africa’s Egypt Impact Lab are evaluating different implementation modalities to identify the most effective routes for scaling women’s financial inclusion.
Market Competition and Women’s Discrimination	Regional	This study uses a lab-in-the-field experiment with 500 managers in Greater Cairo to test whether lack of competition contributes to discrimination against women workers. Under monopoly conditions, managers hired more men than women, but introducing competitors increased the likelihood of women being hired. The study adds to the limited evidence on how discrimination constrains women’s labor force participation in the Middle East and North Africa.
Our Kindergarten in Our Neighborhood Quasi-Experimental Evaluation	Tunisia	The Middle East and North Africa Gender Innovation Lab is collaborating with the Ministry of Family, Women, Children and the Elderly in Tunisia to evaluate the national program Our Kindergarten in Our Neighborhood. The program covers kindergarten enrollment costs for children ages 3–5 from vulnerable households enrolled in Aman Sociale, the national cash transfer program. The study examines impacts on child development and women’s labor force outcomes by comparing beneficiary and non-beneficiary children, contributing to evidence on how childcare provision in the Middle East and North Africa can improve both early childhood development and women’s economic empowerment.