Unique data set of 30,000 individuals at 7 international financial institutions offers most complete picture yet of gender and representation at key development organizations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Evan Ottenfeld
+1-224-223-4393
[email protected]
WASHINGTON ― International financial institutions (IFIs) like the World Bank, the IMF, and regional development banks have achieved substantial progress in internal gender equality in leadership over the last 20 years, but not one has achieved gender parity, according to the most detailed study of internal IFI employment data yet by the Center for Global Development released today.
The analysis yielded six main trends and trajectories:
- Not one IFI has achieved gender parity in management roles: Senior management positions lag further behind all managerial ranks.
- The pipeline is broken: much smaller share of women in managerial ranks than in the feeder ranks.
- There has been substantial progress across all ranks, much of it dating to the last 20 years—but progress in senior management ranks has stagnated since 2010.
- Progress towards parity in management has been uneven, with spurts of growth interspersed with periods of stagnation.
- Rapid change in overall staffing numbers, whether an expansion, contraction or even reorganization, is not good for diversity.
- Politically appointed positions, whether at the president/CEO level or board membership, significantly lag behind the progress made in technocratic positions.
“Overall, IFI workforces are quite diverse, but managerial ranks are still heavily male dominated. Diversity in the ranks of policymakers improves the quality of their policymaking,” said lead author Eeshani Kandpal. “Though progress on gender parity has been admirable, the IFIs must do a lot more to walk the talk on equality.”
The study analyzed data from seven major IFIs collectively responsible for more than a quarter trillion dollars of lending in 2022 — the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the European Investment Bank (EIB)—representing approximately 30,000 individuals over a 20-year period.
IFIs generally recognize that gender equality is an essential part of economic development, and that diversity and inclusion improve the quality, relevance, and credibility of development policy. As such, many IFIs have established DEI offices, issued diversity statements, and made promoting women’s leadership a key pillar of their operational work in client countries.
Yet, an inward look at diversity and representation within their own leadership is often missing. Most IFIs have little representation of women and people of color among their senior management. Only 2 of 9 IFIs have a woman head; no woman of color has ever been the head of an IFI. Implicit or explicit bias in recruitment and promotion can lead to a misallocation of managerial talent.
Who rises up the ranks of IFIs has global implications.
IFIs play a large role in global financing: in 2021, they provided US$230 billion for pandemic recovery alone, while in 2022, they provided nearly US$300 billion in financial assistance to developing countries. Women leaders within IFIs are well-positioned to serve in other senior positions, taking up roles within ministries of finance and central banks in their home countries, or in the C-suites of private companies and senior academic positions. They also serve as important role models for future women leaders.
The report’s findings will be the focus of CGD’s annual Birdsall House Conference on November 29.