Feminist Perspectives on Care Work in the MENA Region – Gender at Work (2020)

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Gender at Work, 2020 – 18 pages

This report provides feminist perspectives on care work in the MENA region because there is a dearth of credible studies and statistics on this topic. Feminist activists and scholars concur that the care economy is vital to the well-being and livelihoods of communities in the Arab region, especially where these communities encounter challenges in securing their livelihoods. Care work – essentially the care of others, whether paid or unpaid – is non-transferable, undervalued, poorly recognised and forever constituting a barrier to women’s and girls’ advancement. The report argues there is a serious need to assess the value of care work within the region as a tool for evidence-based advocacy. It also deems it crucial to incorporate an intersectional framework into any analysis of care work. Finally, it states that economic dynamics must come into play in any care work arrangements.

Private Equity and Value Creation: A fund manager’s guide to gender-smart investing – IFC & CDC (2020)

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IFC & CDC, 2020 – 109 pages

Given the business case for gender-smart investing is well established, and the fact that women around the globe have been impacted more severely by the pandemic, it is more important than ever for private investors, including private equity funds, to direct capital towards solutions that drive gender equality. While the opportunity is promising, more clarity and guidance is needed by investors to understand and put into practice gender-smart investing. The objective of this Guide is to answer two questions identified by Fund Managers as the most critical for further clarification:

  • How can Fund Managers drive the adoption of gender-smart solutions across their firm, including moving investment teams towards gender balance?
  • How can Fund Managers apply gender-smart approaches to their investment operations; including during origination, due diligence, investment analysis and decision-making, deal structuring and negotiations, portfolio management and reporting, and exit?

Gender-lens Investments Enable Women Entrepreneurs to Thrive in Pakistan – IFC (2020)

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IFC, 2020 – 8 pages

In 2019, IFC invested $2 million into Sarmayacar, supporting start-ups in Pakistan through one of the first Venture Capital funds in the country. Additional Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) funding was specifically leveraged to support Sarmayacar to invest with a gender lens. This partnership aims to demonstrate the viability of investments in women-led tech start-ups in Pakistan. We-Fi has enabled the de-risking of entrepreneurial financing for women entrepreneurs and Sarmayacar benefits from this increased support by being able to access a larger investment-ready pipeline of women-led opportunities. IFC’s and We-Fi’s support to Sarmayacar led to the development of a strategy using the principles of gender-lens investing, including the adoption of gender-related goals to actively source and develop investments in women-led companies. At its inception in 2018, Sarmayacar’s pipeline of women-owned companies was less than 10%. In 2020, the fund’s pipeline has increased to 42%.

Moving Toward Gender Balance in Private Equity and Venture Capital – IFC (2019)

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IFC, 2019 – 137 pages

Our research examines gender balance—defined as leadership teams with at least 30% of men and women—in private equity and venture capital funds and the companies they invest in within emerging markets. We explore the relationship between gender balance and fund performance, and the roles that general partners, the vehicles investing private equity and venture capital funds, and limited partners, the source of capital, can play in alleviating gender gaps in investment funds and their portfolio companies. We find that the gender gaps in the representation of women as allocators and recipients of capital put access to financing at risk for female entrepreneurs and may reduce investment returns for funds. This report answers three questions:

  • How gender-balanced are leadership teams of General Partners, which allocate capital, and of portfolio companies, which receive investments?
  • Are there benefits of moving leadership teams toward gender balance within General Partners and portfolio companies?
  • What can General Partners do to move toward gender balance in their leadership teams and those of the portfolio companies they invest in?

 

Bridging the Digital Gender Divide: Include, upskill, innovate – OECD (2018)

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OECD, 2018 – 151 pages

This report explores a range of factors that underpin the digital gender divide, bolsters the evidence base for policy making and provides policy directions for consideration by all G20 governments. The report finds that hurdles to access, affordability, lack of education as well as inherent biases and sociocultural norms curtail women and girls’ ability to benefit from the opportunities offered by the digital transformation. In addition, girls’ relatively lower educational enrolment in disciplines that would allow them to perform well in a digital world – such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as information and communication technologies – coupled with women’s and girls’ more limited use of digital tools could lead to widening gaps and greater inequality. Co-ordinated policy action can help narrow the digital gender gap. This requires:

  • Raising awareness and tackling gender stereotypes.
  • Enabling enhanced, safer, and more affordable access to digital tools.
  • Stronger cooperation across stakeholders to remove barriers to girls and women’s full participation in the digital world.

Unlocking Markets for Women to Trade – ITC (2015)

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International Trade Centre, 2015 – 80 pages

This publication provides insights to decision-makers on women’s participation in trade and the challenges they face. It provides data from importers and exporters in 20 developing countries; outlines the trade barriers; shares models of good public and private sector initiatives; and provides recommendations for policymakers to engage female entrepreneurs more fully in the global economy.

The report outlines a road map to rapidly boost the participation of women in the global economy, which has eight pillars for policy and programming action:

  • Better data. Collect, analyse, and disseminate data on women’s economic participation, to shape policies and programmes with impact.
  • Sensitive trade policies. Create trade policies and agreements that enhance women’s participation in trade.
  • Access to public procurement. Empower women-owned businesses to participate in the US$10 trillion annual public procurement market. Their current share is an estimated 1%–5%.
  • Diversity in corporate procurement. Create corporate procurement programmes that embed diversity and inclusion in value chains.
  • Certifying women-owned businesses. Set up mechanisms to certify ownership and eligibility of women-owned businesses.
  • Improving business environments. Address supply-side constraints that especially affect women-owned businesses.
  • Bridging the finance gap. Close the gap between men and women for access to financial services gap.
  • Adopting reforms. Ensure legislative and administrative reforms guarantee women’s rights to ownership and control over resources.

Guide on Gender Mainstreaming: Business, investment and technology services for private sector development – UNIDO (2015)

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UNIDO, 2015 – 82 pages

All United Nations agencies share responsibility for improving gender equality and thus need to understand the relevance of gender issues to fulfilling their mandate. By systematically mainstreaming gender into its Business, Investment and Technology (BIT) interventions to strengthen Private Sector Development (PSD), UNIDO is contributing to ensuring equal opportunities for women and men. The aims of this guide are to:

  • Explain what gender mainstreaming means for UNIDO.
  • Describe how key thematic aspects of BIT/ UNIDO’s work relate to gender.
  • Provide practical, step-by-step guidance on how to systematically mainstream gender into BIT projects.

Violence and Harassment at Work: A guide for small and medium enterprises to prevent violence and harassment in the workplace – RVO (2020)

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RVO, 2020 – 24 pages

This guide is designed to help SMEs tackle the problem of violence and harassment by:

  • Informing about the characteristics of violence and harassment in the workplace.
  • Providing background information on the adopted ILO Convention 190.
  • Providing tips to more effectively tackle and prevent violence and harassment at work.
  • Sharing some workplace initiatives of SMEs, brands, trade unions, and other key players.
  • Supporting in creating a positive, inclusive work environment that prevents violence and harassment.

The Business Case for Women’s Economic Empowerment: An Integrated Approach – ICRW (2014)

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ICRW, 2014 – 8 pages

This study highlights the eight building blocks of WEE. Additionally, it presents results from research on corporate-funded WEE programmes.

Main takeaways:

  • While there are a lot of corporations investing in WEE, there is little available data about what is working and what is not.
  • Most programmes focus on access to education, financial support, training, and employment opportunities rather than a more integrated approach based on a human rights framework that delivers the broader conditions necessary for women to thrive.
  • There is an opportunity and desire to increase collaboration and improve communications between the women’s rights sector and corporations working in WEE programmes.

A ‘How-To’ Guide to Measuring Women’s Empowerment – Oxfam (2017)

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Oxfam, 2017 – 48 pages

To understand the extent to which its projects have contributed to women’s empowerment, Oxfam has developed a measurement tool based on a composite index – the Women’s Empowerment Index. This builds on experience and tools from the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

  • Section one of this report presents the framework that has been developed to measure women’s empowerment.
  • Section two presents the characteristics of the index and provides suggestions as to how it might be applied.
  • Section three presents the five steps involved in defining and constructing the Women’s Empowerment Index.
  • Section four discusses future evolution of the measurement tool.