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: 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:
Related Content
Applying a Gender Lens throughout the PPP Project Cycle
Type of ResourceKey Topics Across Infrastructure Sectors
Type of ResourceSector-Specific Materials
Type of ResourceGender & Energy Projects
Type of ResourceGender & Transport Projects
Gender & Water and Sanitation Projects
Type of Resource
Additional Resources
Gender PPP Toolkit
Examining public-private partnership projects through a gender lens
Type of ResourceGender Equality, Infrastructure and PPPs
Partner Resources
Women, Business and the Law 2024 is the tenth in a series of annual studies measuring the enabling environment for women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. Women, Business and the Law 2024 introduces a new framework for measuring the implementation gap across three pillars: legal frameworks, measuring laws; supportive frameworks, measuring policy mechanisms to implement laws; expert opinions, shedding light on experts’ perception of women’s outcomes.
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