Highlights from Africa SPJ: Empowering Women and Girls Through Social Protection

Women’s and girls’ empowerment (WGE) is a key priority for the World Bank’s engagement in the Africa region. Gender equality has long been central to the World Bank’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. The Bank has made substantial investments aimed at closing gaps between men and women as well as advancing our understanding of what works to close those gaps. However, only recently has the Bank recognized WGE as a policy goal in its own right. WGE emerged a key strategy for human capital development in Africa in 2019. This highlights the need for guidance and tools to help task teams operationalize the WGE agenda in the region