For more information, please contact: The UFGE Secretariat | Gender Group The World Bank Email: [email protected] 1818 H Street, NW Web Address: www.worldbank.org/gender/ufge Washington, D.C., 20433 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized 2019 ANNUAL REPORT Partnering For Gender Equality Public Disclosure Authorized UMBRELLA FACILITY FOR GENDER EQUALITY Table of Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................... 4 Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Foreword .......................................................................................................................................................... 6 Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 7 01. An Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 13 02. From Evidence to Influence ..................................................................................................................... 21 03. New Grants in FY19: Building on Recent Achievements ........................................................................ 25 04. A Closer Look: Highlights of FY19 Results ............................................................................................... 29 05. Annexes .................................................................................................................................................... 41 3 Acknowledgments The 2019 Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality (UFGE) Annual Report was prepared by the Secretariat, led by Fareeba Mahmood, Program Manager, under the leadership of Caren Grown, Senior Director of the Gender Group. Core team members include Stefan Agersborg, Maria Lourdes Abundo and Mengjia Wan. The team is grateful for inputs and support from Andrea Kucey, Malcom Ehrenpreis, David William Young and Nicholas John Paul. The UFGE Secretariat extends its gratitude to the UFGE development partners for their contributions and collaboration: Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development; Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs; Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation and the German Agency for International Cooperation; Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs; the Netherlands’ Ministry for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation; Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Republic of Latvia’s Ministry of Finance; Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation; Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency; Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation; the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development; United States Agency for International Development; and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Finally, the UFGE Secretariat wishes to acknowledge the task teams implementing and reporting on grants financed by the UFGE. Australia Norway Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry of Foreign Affairs Canada Republic of Latvia Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Ministry of Finance Denmark Spain Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation Finland Sweden Ministry for Foreign Affairs Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) Germany Switzerland Bundesministerium für Wirtschaftliche Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Zusammenarbeit (BMZ) Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) Iceland Ministry for Foreign Affairs United States United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation *This report was designed by Gimga Group. 4 2019 UFGE Annual Report Abbreviations AFR Africa Region AFR GIL Africa Gender Innovation Lab ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations DEC Development Economics Vice Presidency, World Bank DIME Development Impact Evaluation Team, based in DEC DPO Development Policy Operation (policy-based financing instrument) EAP East Asia and Pacific Region EAP GIL East Asia and Pacific Gender Innovation Lab ECA Europe and Central Asia Region EDGE Economic Dividends for Gender Equality Certification eMBeD Mind, Behavior, and Development Unit in the World Bank Group FCV Fragility, Conflict and Violence IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development IDA International Development Association IFC International Finance Corporation FY Fiscal Year of the WBG, running July 1 through June 30 GBV Gender-Based Violence GIL Gender Innovation Lab GP Global Practice in the World Bank Group LAC Latin America and Caribbean Region LAC GIL Latin America and Caribbean Gender Innovation Lab MFS Mobile Financial Services MGF Mashreq Gender Facility MNA Middle East and North Africa Region MNA GIL Middle East and North Africa Gender Innovation Lab NGO Non-Governmental Organization RGAP Regional Gender Action Plan RGIL Regional Gender Innovation Lab SAR South Asia Region SAR GIL South Asia Gender Innovation Lab SCD Systematic Country Diagnostic SDG Sustainable Development Goal SME Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics UFGE Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality WBG World Bank Group WDR World Development Report 5 Foreword Over the last two decades the gender divide has narrowed in important areas. In many countries, primary and secondary school enrollment rates are now the same for girls and boys, and significant progress has been made in maternal health, including in low- and middle-income countries where the maternal mortality ratio has declined by 21 percent over the last decade. Yet progress is uneven and critical gaps persist. The risk of maternal mortality remains high in Sub-Saharan Africa, at 1 in 38. And for too many women, access to reproductive health services is lacking or absent. Significant gaps also remain in terms of economic opportunity and voice and agency. In nearly every country, women face barriers to full participation in the workforce and earning parity with men. Women consistently trail men in formal labor force participation, access to credit, entrepreneurship rates, income levels, and ownership rights. Worldwide, women have on average just three fourths of the rights of men. Only eight of the world’s countries have achieved gender equality in the law. There are still 90 economies that place legal restrictions on women’s employment, barring them from working at night, limiting the work they can do in certain industries, or prohibiting them from working in jobs deemed as dangerous.1 Countries simply cannot achieve their potential or meet the challenges of the 21st century without the full and equal participation of women and men, and girls and boys. At the time of this report (January 2020), the World Bank approved the first-ever Development Policy Loan solely focused on closing gender gaps. This is significant because it is the first example of providing a policy umbrella for an issue that, by its very nature, cuts across various government institutions. The $10 million loan will support the Government of Albania’s efforts to improve gender equality and is underpinned by important analytical work on gender disparities in access to economic opportunities and assets in Albania and the Western Balkans. Research matters and, in the case of Albania, was possible only through funding from the Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality (UFGE). Since its establishment in 2012, this facility has been pivotal in the World Bank Group’s (WBG) efforts to support government efforts to close gender gaps, by enabling upstream knowledge that can inform and influence policies and programs and enhance the work of practitioners everywhere. Closing economic gaps between women and men is central to the Sustainable Development Goals. This year marks 25 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, offering an opportunity to reflect on progress towards the SDGs. As we look ahead, the UFGE has a critical role to play as a key source of innovation that empowers the development community to work with countries to accelerate progress toward gender equality and sustainable development. The results highlighted in this report would not have been possible without the strong support of UFGE’s 15 development partners: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We look forward to a continuing and fruitful collaboration with current and future partners in support of gender equality. Caren Grown 1 World Bank. 2020. Women, Business and the Law 2020. Washington, DC: World Bank 6 2019 UFGE Annual Report Executive Summary Overview Innovation: The UFGE pilots and scales innovative approaches. As of FY19, psychology-based training for Operational approaches by governments and entrepreneurs developed by the AFR GIL was being development agencies have not yet been successful replicated in 9 countries in Africa and Latin America