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Gender Equality & PPPs

Photo Credit: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

The development and upgrading of infrastructure through public-private partnership (PPP) projects can significantly improve the availability and quality of essential infrastructure services, which in turn can lead to improved income-generating opportunities, access to employment, education and markets, thereby boosting economic growth and development.

The expansion of electricity grids, the construction of new roads and bridges, as well as the provision of water supply and sanitation services is, however, not gender neutral. as men and women have different roles and responsibilities in their households, communities and markets.

The World Bank Group (WBG), through its 2016 – 2023 Gender Strategy, has identified four objectives important to promoting gender equality:
  1. Improving human endowment gaps, meaning gaps between men and women related to health, education and social protection;
  2. Removing constraints for more and better jobs, by increasing women’s participation in the labor force, their income-opportunities, and their access to productive assets;
  3. Removing barriers to women’s ownership of and control over assets, such as land, housing and technology;
  4. Enhancing women’s voice and agency by including women in decision-making around delivery of and by reducing gender-based violence

The proposed WBG Gender Strategy 2024-30 puts forward the bold ambition to accelerate gender equality for a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive future in alignment with the World Bank Evolution Roadmap. The Strategy responds to the global urgency, fundamentality, and complexity of achieving gender equality. Building on implementation of the WB Gender Strategy 2016-23, the new strategy proposes a focus on innovation, financing, and collective action to end gender-based violence, elevate human capital, expand and enable economic opportunities, and engage women as leaders. 

PPP programs and projects can play an important role in addressing these objectives by advancing the development of infrastructure that takes the needs, priorities and concerns of females and males as users of infrastructure services into account while providing equal opportunities for women and men as employees, entrepreneurs, community members, and leaders.   

Including a gender perspective in PPP frameworks as well as the planning, design, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of PPP infrastructure projects helps to ensure that projects are designed and implemented that grant women equal access to vital infrastructure services. Similarly, projects that include a gender lens can equip local women with skills, experience and tools to participate in decision-making and governance; contribute towards ending gender-based violence; or take measures to remove barriers to female employment, entrepreneurship and ownership of productive assets. As a robust evidence base shows, aiming for gender equality and a more inclusive approach leads to better development outcomes for the next generation and allows businesses and institutions to perform better.

This section provides access to legal resources, guidance and publications that could help decision-makers to plan, design, implement and monitor more gender-responsive PPP infrastructure programs, frameworks and projects.

Key topics related to applying a gender lens throughout the PPP Project cycle include the following materials: 

Applying a Gender Lens throughout the PPP Project Cycle - Explore guidance and set standards for the development of more gender-inclusive PPP programs and projects.   

Key Topics Across Infrastructure Sectors - Insights into how a well-thought-out community engagement strategy that reaches out to women's representatives and facilitates the participation and effective engagement of local women. 

Sector-Specific Materials - Resources as well as international policy and guidance documents that include a gender perspective into infrastructure projects.

Gender & Energy Projects - The inclusion of gender-specific requirements in an energy project can also provide employment and income creation opportunities by increasing the number of women who work in the energy sector, own businesses related to the energy sector or act as partners in public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives. 

Gender & Transport Projects - Access to safe and affordable transportation has direct impact on the economic opportunities and quality of life of the affected communities. All these benefits apply to both men and women, but tend to affect women differently. 

Gender & Water and Sanitation Projects - Gender-responsive water and sanitation projects can also promote economic empowerment since they allow in particular women and girls to use time saved for more productive activities that can lead to increased financial independence. 

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