IFC Sustainability

Private sector development is stronger — and the benefits more widespread — when women are full participants in the process.

Women are active as business owners and employees across the world. They represent half of the global talent pool. They also represent a sizeable, if sometimes invisible, force in almost all economies when it comes to savings, business investment, household consumption, and community development.

Yet women are more likely than men to work in the informal economy. They are less likely to have access to training and finance. Legal discrimination and other regulatory barriers can keep even the most innovative women-owned companies from flourishing. While many women achieve business success, others are held back and often disadvantaged when it comes to developing enterprises, accessing economic resources, and voicing legitimate economic concerns.

These constraints reduce overall growth, productivity, and performance in the economy. Fewer jobs, less investment. There are solutions, however, and evidence shows that they work.

Greater access to finance for female entrepreneurs can lead to small and medium enterprise (SME) expansion and job creation. The inclusion of local women and men in the supply chains of international investment projects can boost local well-being and add to a project's long-term sustainability.

More female voices in business networks and policy discussion encourages more women to invest their time, money, and energy in business ventures. Gender diversity on corporate ladders and in corporate boardrooms correlates with higher corporate performance.

In other words, a gender view to business and development can benefit everyone.

To learn more, contact IFC's Women in Business team.

Links

• Telling Our Story: Women and Business — Drivers of Development
• Women in Business (WIN) Knowledge Center
• Creating Opportunities for Women and Business [PDF]