Glossary of Acronyms and World Bank Terms

AFR Africa Regional Office

CAS Country Assistance Strategy

DEC Development Economics Department

EAP East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office

ECA Europe and Central Asia Regional Office

EDI Economic Development Institute

ESSD Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Network

ESW Economic and Sector Work

FPSI Finance, Private Sector and Infrastructure Network

HD Human Development Network

LAC Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Office

MENA Middle East and North Africa Regional Office

PAD Project appraisal document

PCD Project concept document

PREM Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network

SAL Structural Adjustment Loan

SAS South Asia Regional Office

Executive Summary

Background

The External Gender Consultative Group (EGCG) was established in early 1996 as part of the Bank’s commitment to the recommendations of the Fourth Women’s World Conference in Beijing in 1995. The EGCG currently has 14 members combining a wide range of professional and organizational backgrounds and representing all geographical regions. Its objectives are to help the Bank to strengthen its dialogue with civil society, to ensure that the Bank is addressing a broad range of gender issues of concern to different sectors of civil society, and to engage in a constructive but critical dialogue on the Bank’s progress in the formulation and implementation of its gender policies.

The Second Annual Meeting of the EGCG was held at the World Bank from May 19-21, 1997. Eleven of the fourteen EGCG members attended. During the meeting the group met with Mr. James D. Wolfensohn, Mr. Joseph Stiglitz, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, and other Bank staff from the regions and the anchor. The following paragraphs summarize highlights from the meeting and the recommendations presented by the group to the World Bank.

Progress during the past year

There has been significant progress at the Bank on gender in terms of support from top leadership, increased ownership at the country level, recognition of gender as a cross-cutting issue, measuring results on the ground with performance indicators, and listening and responding to civil society. Gender issues are increasingly being addressed upstream.

Opportunities offered by the new network structure

The Bank’s new network structure is now in place, and the high priority assigned to gender is reflected in the fact that a Gender Family has been created. The location of the Gender Family in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) network, which is responsible for economic policy, should make it easier for gender to be mainstreamed at the country and regional levels.

Regional Gender Action Plans

One of the most significant advances towards gender mainstreaming during the past year has been the preparation of regional gender action plans for each of the six Bank regions. These action plans, based on extensive consultations with headquarters and resident mission staff, and (to varying degrees in each region) with outside groups, have laid the basis for mainstreaming gender into the country programs. The presentations by regional staff showed that the action plans are based on an analysis of the main gender issues facing each country and region, and an identification of the interventions required to address these problems. The presentations showed variations in the issues and approaches in each region. In Africa, for example, key issues included: women’s major, but under-valued, economic role, "time poverty" (the competing demands on women’s time due to their multiple roles), access to education, health and population control. In contrast, in East Europe and Central Asia the focus is more on labor markets, gender disparities in the effects of privatization, and the impacts of transition economies on women’s employment, pensions and access to child care.

Other regions all had their different priorities and strategies, although in most cases there were important issues concerning gender disparities in labor market conditions, availability of credit and other productive resources, and access to education and health.

Integrating gender into the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS)

A presentation was made on the participatory processes used in the preparation of the Country Assistance Strategy in Uganda - considered an example of good practice both in addressing gender issues and in the use of systematic procedures for stakeholder consultation. It was recognized that these procedures are still only used in a relatively small number of countries - although it is expected that they will be more widely used in future as the Gender Family is preparing guidelines on how to integrate gender in the CAS and the Social Development Family is preparing guidelines on how to use participatory approaches in the preparation of the CAS.

Integrating gender into the Bank’s new project processing procedures

A presentation explained the new procedures (including Project Concept and Project Appraisal Documents) which are being developed to streamline project processing and to ensure that priority social development issues, including gender, are identified at the project concept stage and are then monitored throughout the project cycle.

Integrating gender into the Bank’s research program

Joseph Stiglitz, the Bank’s Chief Economist, explained that research is an important element in the Bank’s gender strategy, as development refers as much to a gap in ideas as to differences in economic resources. He identified the following examples of areas in which the Bank, due to is comparative advantages, can make an important contribution to research on gender-related issues:

Data collection: As a global institution the Bank is able to promote the collection of comparative country level data sets covering large numbers of countries. The Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) is one of the best examples.

Impacts of female education: As the largest lender for education, the Bank has been at the forefront of research on the impacts of female education on economic growth.

Female productivity and access to resources: There is evidence from a number of sectors that women’s productivity is significantly limited by their limited access to land, credit and other resources. This is a research area in which the Bank can contribute.

Micro-lending and the operation of financial markets: The Bank is particularly interested in the operation of financial markets and is well positioned to study the linkages between these markets and the access of female and male micro-entrepreneurs to credit.

Household behavior: Looking inside the black box called the "household" to examine household bargaining strategies and the consequences of household resource allocation decisions on efficiency and equity.

Impacts of markets on women: Understanding how markets work and why women have less access to resources; and assessing the consequences of these differences from the perspective of efficiency and equity, and the direct and indirect consequences of government policies on women.

Water: access, pricing, management and maintenance of water supply for both consumption and agriculture have strong gender implications. Given the Bank’s major investments in this sector, gender should be mainstreamed into sector research.

Unemployment: the different impacts on, and responses to, unemployment by women and men.

Responses to famine: how is food allocated among different household members; particularly between children and adults, and between women and men.

A promising model of collaborative research was described in the session on the Structural Adjustment Participatory Research Initiative (SAPRI) in which a broad range of NGOs and other sectors of civil society are cooperating with the Bank to design and implement research strategies to evaluate the impacts of structural adjustment on the poor in general, and on women in particular. A key objective is to integrate the use of quantitative and qualitative methods to provide a broader understanding of the consequences of adjustment for different groups, including women.

Recommendations presented by the EGCG and proposed follow-up

During the meetings with Mr. Wolfensohn and with Mr. Stiglitz, and during the final meeting members of PREM and the Gender Sector Board, the following recommendations were presented and discussed.

Work program for 1997-98

1. Review of country portfolios: One country should be selected in each region for a country portfolio review to assess how well the overall portfolio has integrated gender issues into the country program. Recommendations would be made as to how the portfolio could be retrofitted to enhance development efficiency and strengthen its gender focus.

2. Strengthening external consultation on regional gender action plans: The regional gender action plans represent a major step forward in the mainstreaming of gender in the Bank. The process of consultation with external groups should include a broader cross-section of civil society at the country and regional level. The EGCG should assist regional management to implement these consultations.

3. Gender issues in the Bank’s work with the private sector: Policies should be formulated for the systematic integration of gender into the Bank’s work with the private sector through IFC, MIGA and other initiatives.

4. Strengthening the Bank’s gender framework and rationale: The Bank should develop a common framework that would integrate diverse views on how gender issues should be addressed in development work. A conference should be organized, in consultation with the EGCG, and with the participation of NGOs, academics and other sectors of civil society, to review the framework and to suggest a program of research and analysis leading to a high-profile gender report such as the WDR.

5. Capacity building of women’s organizations in client countries: The Bank should earmark funds in its country and regional budgets to strengthen the institutional capacity of civil society to lobby both their own governments and international agencies to ensure that gender issues are adequately addressed at the country level.

Organization and functions of the EGCG

With respect to the organization and functions of the EGCG, the group made the following proposals:

1. Functions of the EGCG: The group will have the following functions:

to support the Bank's efforts in mainstreaming gender

to strengthen the Bank's dialogue with women's organizations and civil society on the implementation of gender sensitive policies and programs

to identify priority issues in relation to gender for the Bank

to monitor implementation of actions recommended by this group to the Bank.

2. Replacement and recruitment of members: The present members would continue for two more meetings and then a process of replacement (still to be defined) would begin. In addition the Group would like to be able to appoint up to four technical people to strengthen the group’s technical capacity on the priority activities to be addressed.

3. Improving communication. There is a need to develop an efficient system of electronic communication among group members and between the group and the Bank. At present four members of the group do not have a modem to connect to Internet and three do not have computers. Once the survey of computer facilities has been completed, it is hoped that the Bank will be able to assist in ensuring all members have access to Internet.

4. Access to Bank documents. Members need to have regular access to Bank documents throughout the year and not just before the annual meeting. It was proposed that the Bank should appoint someone who would work as a liaison with the group and would ensure the smooth flow of documents and other information.

5. Agenda setting. It was proposed that the agenda for future meetings be set by the group in consultation with 3 people from the Bank: including a representative of the Gender Board, and representative of the Social Development Family. In future the meeting agenda would be agreed to much further in advance.

6.. Duration of future meetings. Future meetings should last four days. This would allow one day for the group to meet among themselves, one day for meetings with other organizations and two days for meetings with the Bank.

7. Publication of meeting report. It was proposed that there should be two reports.

An official report prepared by the Bank. This should be published much more quickly than last year with a shorter time allowed for comments from the group.

A shorter report prepared by the Group and highlighting the key issues of interest to civil society.

Mr. Wolfensohn and Mr. Stiglitz, as well as other Bank staff, said that the Bank has found the consultations with the EGCG to have been very constructive and helpful. The Bank broadly supported all of the proposals, and the issue now would be to prioritize the different proposals keeping in mind resource constraints. The EGCG indicated that they will submit their recommendations to Mr. Wolfensohn in writing within two months, and the Bank agreed to provide a timely response.

The Gender Anchor Team also agreed to prepare a draft meeting report for review within 4 weeks, and after allowing 4 weeks for comments from the EGCG members, to publish the report before the end of July.

Highlights of the Second Annual Meeting

May 20-21, 1997

Introduction to the World Bank’s New Network Structure

Speaker: Mr. Masood Ahmed, Head, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network

Mr. Ahmed welcomed the Group to Washington and proceeded to provide an overview of the Bank’s new Network structure. There are now four networks: Human Development (HD); Finance, Private Sector Development and Infrastructure (FPSI); Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (ESSD); and Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM). Each network groups together a broad area of thematic work done in the Bank. The PREM network is focusing on the set of issues in the Bank which are related to broad-based country economic management, looking at the macroeconomic situation as well as the micro underpinnings.

The network structure will enable the Bank to do several things better, including: facilitating the systematic transfer of best practice across the Bank, accelerating the mainstreaming of new ideas, upgrading staff skills, and promoting career development. He noted that gender and poverty are different from other sectors, such as roads. Gender and poverty need to be fed into all of the Bank’s work, not only a subset, although it is more important in some areas than others.

The main rationale for having gender in the PREM network is to help mainstream gender into the Bank’s work, especially into key processes such as the Country Assistance Strategies (CAS). However, there are risks with this as well. For example, being in the PREM network may result in more of a focus on economics. The social development perspective as well as those of other networks are also needed. This is why there are representatives of the other networks on the Gender Board. Mr. Ahmed closed by saying that he would like advice from the EGCG on how to make better progress on gender in the Bank.

Ms. Nguyen began by noting that there has been significant progress at the Bank on gender in terms of support from top leadership, increased ownership at the country level, recognition of gender as a cross-cutting issue, measuring results on the ground with performance indicators, and listening and responding to civil society. Gender issues are increasingly being addressed upstream. This is not always an easy process. The methodology is not yet well-grounded. The Bank can listen, but how to operationalize is more difficult. The Bank is moving beyond gender and social issues into other areas, including intra and inter-household analysis, measuring results on the ground with sex-disaggregated performance indicators, and assessing in project mid-term reviews whether the gender actions mentioned in the SAR have been implemented.

There are many challenges remaining. The techniques for mainstreaming are still elusive. What the Bank is trying to do is to integrate gender issues starting upstream, identifying priorities, designing strategic interventions, and assessing impact. Various steps are being taken to mainstream gender. Guidelines are being developed. A "just-in-time service" is being launched to provide timely support to Bank staff preparing ESW, poverty assessments or CASs; or working on projects.

There is a need to identify benchmarks and monitor them. One idea would be to have country teams debate gender issues once a year. The managerial selection process will make a big difference. People will have to value diversity, gender, etc. There is a culture of selectivity in the Bank now. Thus there is a need to make the business case for gender. Accordingly there is a plan to do case studies and really show the difference incorporating gender makes. There is also different treatment of gender issues in different country environments, depending on the country context.

There is a need for rigor in the consultation process. People in the field are sometimes being given tasks for which they are not trained. For instance, the NGO specialists may not be trained in gender issues. Staff involved in the consultation process need to have strong technical skills. They need to know how to reconcile the diverse views that often arise during consultations.

What’s next for the Bank concerning gender? The institution is well on the way with its restructuring. It is working on the recommendations received from the EGCG and Women’s Eyes on the World Bank. There is a need for suggestions on how the Bank and the EGCG can work constructively, as partners. A demand for gender work has to be created at the country level. Governments and civil society need to work together. There is a need for more women in decision-making roles in government and elsewhere.

Questions and comments: The first comment was that often with organizational change, attention to gender issues is reduced. Here, however, the change seemed positive. Several questions followed. How do you strengthen the Bank’s capacity to deal with gender issues in the "hard sectors"? What qualifications should the head of the gender sector board have, and what do you expect to achieve in the next three years with the networks? Will the head of the gender sector board be an economist? How do you define gender-related actions? What is the strategy for improving gender-related actions during the coming year? Consultations in countries should be broader. So should the analytical frameworks used at the Bank, as these currently seem to miss inequities in distribution of income (in the ECA region). More field research is needed, instead of only statistical research.

Another comment was that much of what has been said was encouraging. However, it was noted that the incorporation of gender still seems to be at the discretion of the task manager, whether gender is in the CAS, for example. With the new project concept document would there be stipulations for consultation with women’s groups? The next question concerned the effectiveness of Bank training on gender. Another query concerned career opportunities for women at the Bank.

Another participant noted that a funding channel for grants is important for civil society participation in Bank work and asked whether funding would be available under an IDF grant? It is easy for the Bank to discuss with government and then with NGOs, but a three-way partnership is needed. The issue of retrofitting Bank portfolios was also raised. Could gender be a criteria for retrofitting, affecting future lending? A final comment concerned the "culture of realism" now prevalent at the Bank. This should not preclude a proactive stance on gender, as otherwise gender will continue to be sidelined.

Response: Mr. Ahmed began by saying that progress has been made concerning women in management, but there is still a long way to go. The Bank started at a low level. The question is how to create conditions for women to compete for management positions. There is a need to focus on potential managers, and an effort is needed concerning diversity of nationality. Concerning qualities for the leader of the Gender Sector Board: three attributes are needed. First, someone who can make the business case for gender and sell it to staff in mainstream Bank work. The Bank is an analytically-driven organization, and so an intellectual framework is needed to make a strong case. Second, someone who is willing to persevere in making a challenging job work. There are still a lot of staff who do not see gender as an issue across the board. There is a need for someone who can work the bureaucracy. Thirdly, someone who has an ability to interact with a wide range of groups with different views, groups inside and outside the Bank. It is likely that this person will be an economist, as it is important that s/he can work with mainstream Bank culture, which is an economist one. However, it could be a non-economist who has worked a lot with economists.

Ms. Nguyen noted that the country management units are the structures to focus on in the new Bank. She would like briefing sessions with the country managers and their teams; this would be part of a proactive stance. Gender training is very important, and the gender team works closely with the Learning and Leadership Center on this. There are a lot of women in the Executive Training Program. The issue of country performance criteria is being examined now. Being in the PREM network helps to get gender into the discussion. There is a need to see how to integrate gender into the criteria for retrofitting. Ms. Bennett noted that the project concept document is being redrafted and that the social development family has been involved in incor