CHAPTER-V

WORLD BANK AND GENDER SENSITIVITY WITH REFERENCE TO

STAFFING

This chapter is an attempt to analyse and explain gender related patterns in the

World Bank. The chapter examines World Bank policies and programmemes related to

women's role in decision-making in the overall policy formulation within the Bank. The

response of the World Bank to the international conferences dealing with gender equality

will also be dealt in this chapter.

Structures and Functions of World Bank Group

The World Bank was established in the Bretton Woods conference at New

Hampshire, US in 1944 during World War II. The World Bank was initially established

to provide assistance to rebuild Europe after the war. Reconstruction has remained an

important focus of the Bank's work; it assists countries during natural disasters,

humanitarian emergencies, and attends to post conflict rehabilitation needs. Today

poverty reduction has occupied much of the attention of the Bank. It helps clients'

countries by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity, and forging

partnerships in the public and private sectors. Most of the World Bank's activities are

focused on the deveioping countries.

However, the World Bank members are both from developed and developing

countries. It has 184 countries as its members. The Bank has become a Group,

encompassing five closely associated development institutions: the International Bank for

Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association

(IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment

Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment

Disputes (ICSID).

The World Bank headquarters is in Washingron DC, and it has more than l 00

country offices worldwide. It once had a homogeneous staff of engineers and financial

analysts based solely in Washington D.C. Today, it has a multidisciplinary and diverse

staff including economists, public policy experts, sectoral experts and social scientists.

There are approximately 8,000 employees in Washington DC, and 2,000 in the country

offices including all employment categories: regular, fixed-term, long-term consultants,

and long-term temporaries (World Bank Group 2004).

The Bank primarily focuses on economic development, which ranges from

providing financial services to advisory services. This also includes technical assistance

in areas such as project design and evaluation/monitoring, legal, financial and

procurement issues, nutrition and health, and environment. The Bank also concentrates

on carrying forth policy analysis for governments and other multilateral institutions.

The Bank's chief of operating staff is the President. He is responsible for the

organization, appointment and dismissal of the officers and staff. In carrying out their

duties as the Bank's employees, the President and the other functiona~s owe allegiance

to the Bank and not to their national governments. According to the Articles of

Agreement, the Bank's employees are required to respect the international character of

their duties and refrain from all attempts to prejudice the exercise of the duties by

nationalist sentiments. In appointing the staff, the President is required to give importance

to technical expertise and skill and ensure geographical representation (World Bank

Group 2004).

The Bank's structure consists of a Board of Governors, Executive Directors, a

President and such other officers and staff. The Chairman of the Executive Directors is

the President. She/he however, cannot vote except for a deciding vote in case of an equal

division. The President can participate in the meetings of the Board of Governors, but

cannot vote at such meetings. If the Executive Directors so decide, the President has to

cnse being a functionary of the Bank. A Board of 24 Executive Directors runs all the

institutions of the World Bank Group, with each Director representing either one country

(for large countries), or a group of countries. Every two years, regular elections of

Executive Directors are held, normally in connection with the Bank's Annual Meetings.

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analysts based solely in Washington D.C. Today, it has a multidisciplinary and diverse

staff including economists, public policy experts, sectoral experts and social scientists.

There are approximately 8,000 employees in Washington DC, and 2,000 in the country

offices including all employment categories: regular, fixed-term, long-term consultants,

and long-term temporaries (World Bank Group 2004).

The Bank primarily focuses on economic development, which ranges from

providing financial services to advisory services. This also includes technical assistance

in areas such as project design and evaluation/monitoring, legal, financial and

procurement issues, nutrition and health. and environment. The Bank also concentrates

on carrying forth policy analysis for governments and other multilateral institutions.

The Bank's chief of operating staff is the President. He is responsible for the

organization, appointment and dismissal of the officers and staff. In carrying out their

duties as the Bank's employees, the President and the other functiona~s owe allegiance

to the Bank and not to their national governments. According to the Articles of

Agreement, the Bank's employees are required to respect the international character of

their duties and refrain from all attempts to preju.dice the exercise of the duties by

nationalist sentiments. In appointing the staff, the President is required to give importance

to technical expertise and skill and ensure geographical representation (World Bank

Group 2004 ).

The Bank's structure consists of a Board of Governors, Executive Directors, a

President and such other officers and staff. The Chairman of the Executive Directors is

the President. She/he however, cannot vote except for a deciding vote in case of an equal

division. The President can participate in the meetings of the Board of Governors, but

cannot vote at such meetings. If the Executive Directors so decide, the President has to

cease being a hnctionary of the Bank. A Board of 24 Executive Directors runs all the

institutions of the World Bank Group, with each Director representing either one country

(for large countries), or a group of countries. Every two years, regular elections of

Executive Directors are held, normally in connection with the Bank's Annual Meetings.

189

of the Bank. The Executive Directors of the Bank also serve on one or more of five

standing committees: the Audit Committee, Budget Committee, Committee on

Development Effectiveness (CODE), Personnel Committee, and Committee on

Governance and Executive Directors' Administrative Matters (COGAM). The

Committees help the Board discharge its oversight responsibilities through in-depth

examination of policies and practices.

The President is the head of the World Bank, but in practice the Board of

Governors and the Board of Executive Directors govern the organization; they approve

loans and debt relief and determine Bank policies. Votes are divided between the

Executive Directors based on the number of shares held by each country (in other words,

according to wealth and power of each country). As of 1 November 2004 the US held

16.4 per cent of total votes, Japan 7.9 per cent, Germany 4.5 per cent and UK and France

each held 4.3 per cent. Membership in itself gives certain voting rights that are same for

all countries but there are also additional votes which depend on financial contributions

of states to the organisation. This structure has long been a target of criticism, as critics

argue that a more democratic governance structure would take greater account of

developing countries' needs

The World Bank has the privilege of being the world's largest supplier of

development capital and it provided more than US $17 billion in loans to its client

countries in 2001. The reforms supported by the Bank in member states are designed to

create long-term economic growth. The Bank uses the profits generated from the loans to

finance its operations. It has recently promised to allocate more of its future financing to

the poorest countries in grants (not loans) for social programmes. The World Bank raises

money for development at the lowest rates by tapping the world's capital markets, and, in

the case of the International Development Association (IDA), through contributions from

wealthier member governments.

The IBRD, which accounts for about three-fourths of the Bank's annual lending,

raises almost all its money in financial markets. One of the world's most prudent and

191

conservative financial institutions, the IBRD, sells AAA-rated bonds and other debt

securities to pension funds, insurance companies, corporations, other banks, and

individuals around the globe. The IBRD charges interest to its borrowers on a rate, which

is set as three quarters of a per cent above what it has paid for the funds it uses for

lending. Loans have to be repaid in 15 to 20 years; there is a three to five-year grace

period before repayment of principal begins. Countries pay in less than 5 per cent of the

IBRD's funds when they join the Bank. Member governments purchase shares, based on

their relative economic strength, but pay only a small portion of the value of those shares.

This guarantee capital can only be used to pay bondholders and not to cover

administrative costs or to make loans. IBRD continues to promote sustainable

development through loans, guarantees and non-lending, including analytical and

advisory services. At the end of fiscal 2002, IBRD membership remained at 183 (World

Bank 1998).

The other body of World Bank, the IDA, was established in 1960. Its function is

to provide concessional assistance to countries that are too poor to borrow at commercial

rates. The IDA plays a vital role to promote growth and reduce poverty by giving

interest-free loans, along with technical assistance, and other services to low-income

countries. IDA credits account for one-fourth of all Bank lending. Borrowers pay a fee of

less than 1 per cent of the loan to cover administrative costs. Repayment is required in 35

or 40 years with a 10-year grace period. Nearly 40 countries contribute to IDA's funding

which is replenished every three years. Donor nations include not only industrial member

countries such as France, Germany, United States, but also developing countries such as

Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, Hungary, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation,

and Turkey, some of which were once IDA-borrowers themselves. At the end of fiscal

2002, IDA membership remained at 162 countries.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), established in 1956, pr:marily

functions to promote growth in developing countries by providing support to the private

sector. It also extends help by providing technical assistance and advice to governments

192

and businesses. In collaboration with other in'iestor:s, the IFC invests m commercial

enterprises through both loans and equity financing.

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agencr (MIGA) was established in 1988.

Its main work is to help encourage foreign investment in developing countries by

providing guarantees to foreign investors against loss caused by non-commercial risks. It

also provides advisory services and technical assistance to help governments attract

private investment, and disseminates informe~tion on investment opportunities in

developing countries.

The International Centre for Settlement olf Investment Disputes (ICSJD),

established in 1966, provides facilities for settlement through conciliation and arbitration

of investment disputes between foreign investors and their host countries. ICSID also

undertakes research and publishing activities in a..rbitr2tion and foreign investment law. In

2002, ICSID membership remained at 134 (World Bank 1998).

All five institutions have been working: - sepMately and in collaboration - to

improve internal efficiency and external effectivoeness. Notwithstanding the considerable

progress, the Bank Group's agenda is not ,Yet complete, nor can it ever be, while the

challenges of development continue to grow.

There are eight World Bank Millen11i urn Development Goals: they are its

roadmap for development. First goal is to eradice~te ex1reme poverty and hunger. Second

goal is to achieve universal primary education. Third goal is to promote gender equality

and empower women. Fourth goai is to reduce G:hild mortality. Fifth goal is to improve

maternal health. The other three goals are to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other

diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for

development (World Bank 2003 ).

Some of the poverty reduction programmes initiated under the auspices of the

World Bank, such as the PRSP and the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative

193

(HIPCI) are noteworthy. In 1999, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) was

introduced as a necessary prerequisite for low-income countries to qualify for external

financing and debt relief. The PRSP is a comprehensive and practical plan for action with

respect to national poverty. It outlines the country's overall development strategy while

proposing policies in all areas. The HIPCI introduced in 1996, this initiative concentrates

on countries that can apply to have their debt reduced "to a sustainable level" by their

creditors if they are unable to make their debt payments. However, these countries must

have a record of implementing World Bank/IMF-supported reforms. The HIPC Initiative

is not a generous debt forgiveness programme; it offers limited debt reduction,

conditional on the implementation of prescribed structural reforms.

With an increase in the complexity of its operations, the World Bank Group in

1980 decided to set up its own administrative tribunal. Its intention was to have at its

disposal a machinery of a judicial nature designed for the settlement of disputes in staff

matters. In the 1970s the Bank had a relatively small composition of staff. It did not have

staff Rules and Regulations. In the late 1970s an internal appeals procedure was

established within the Bank which gave the staff member a right of recourse to an

Appeals Committee. The appeals procedure, however, does not have the characteristics of

judicial proceedings. In 1980 the Bank staff had increased considerably. They were

drawn from over I 00 countries with diverse culture, and the organisational and

managerial structure of the Bank had grown much more complex since its establishment.

All the specialized agencies of the UN except the Bank and the International

Monetary Fund did not have their own administrative tribunals and they were associated

with either the United Nations Administrative Tribunal (UNAT) or the International

Labour Organisation Administrative Tribunal (ILOAT). The Bank's rationale for setting

up an administrative tribunal was that the absence of such a tribunal would lead to

national jurisdictions to assert jurisdiction over complaints against the Bank by staff

members and such assertions of jurisdiction by the members' national courts were viewed

as highly undesirable. The Bank was faced with a choice to join the administrative

tribunal of either the UN or the ILO or it could have set up its own tribunal. The Bank

194

decided to set up its own tribunal of judicial machinery for the settlement of disputes in

staff relations. The Statute of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal (WBA T) is

largely based on the Statute of the UNAT and the ILOAT. One of the distinguishing

features in the WBAT that sets it apart from the Statutes of UNAT and ILOAT, is its

emphasis vide Article IV .I on the qualification of the judges 'as persons of high moral

character,' possessing 'the qualifications required for appointment to high judicial office

or to be jurisconsults of recognised competence.' Seven judges are chosen from member

states of the World Bank and no two judges can be from the same national of the same

state. Under Article IV.3, the Executive Directors of the Bank appoint or reappoint

members of the Tribunal every three years. The similarity shared by the UNA T Statute,

the ILOAT and the WBA T Statutes is that none of them make oral proceedings

compulsory. Due to absence of staff regulations and rules, the Tribunal assumes the

Articles of Agreement as the· source of law for the conditions of employment of staff

members. Decisions of the Executive Directors affecting staff rights and obligations that

are taken regularly are, no doubt, in the view of the Tribunal, laws as far as the

relationship between the Bank, as employer, and the staffs is concerned. Thus, the

decisions taken from time to time by the Executive Directors with regard to salary

increases, allowances and staff benefits belonged to this category of source (Amerasinghe

1995).

Relations with the United Nations

The World Bank is a non-profit-making international organisation. It is a part of

the UN system, but its governance structure is quite separate; the member governments

own the separate institutional structure of the Bank. These institutional structures

subscribe to its basic share capital, with votes proportional to shareholding. Under

pressure from the US, the agreement signed with the specialised agencies under Article

63 of the UN Charter made an exception with regard to the IMF and IBRD. These

agreements relieved the Bretton Woods institutions of the responsibility of coordination

with the UN and relieved it of any obligation to accept UN recommendations. Over the

years, the exception became the rule as other specialized agencies took to the same

course. As a result, in their relations with the specialised agencies of the UN, the General

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Assembly and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) cannot enforce their

recommendations or issue binding guidelines. The new inter-governmental bodies (the

Governing Council of Special Funds established in 1959 followed by the UNCTAD,

UNDP and UNIDO) of the UN adopted the same pattern. Notwithstanding UN bodies

such as the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), the Advisory Committee

on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU),

the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) and the Committee for

Development Planning (COP) in the present context, there is no effective overall

coordination or consultation on economic and social programmes between the UN and

the World Bank (Saksena 1993: 41- 43).

The cooperation matrix between the World Bank and the UN has been firmly

entrenched since the inception of both the bodies. They share a mutual concern in

reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and investing in social sector. In

addition to a shared agenda, the Bank and the UN have almost the same membership.

The 1947 agreement, which recognizes the Bank as an independent specialized

agency of the UN as well as a member and observer in many UN bodies, detlnes the

formal relation between the Bank and the UN. Through the General Assembly and the

ECOSOC, the Bank has established a link with the UN at the political and policy-making

level. Both bodies have exchanged dialogue on development issues; for example, the

Bank's Executive Directors and such bodies as the United Nations System Chief

Executives Board for Coordination. At the political level, the Bank has observer status in

several UN bodies including, the General Assembly and its Second and Third

Committees and ECOSOC, which address issues that bear directly on the work of the

Bank, e.g. population, poverty, HIV/AIDS, gender issues and women and development,

governance and civil society, communications, and environment. At the operational level,

the Bank work~ with the United Nations Development Programme and other UN Funds

and Programmes in its project work through policy coordination, project implementation,

co-financing and .aid coordination.

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However, the placement of the Bretton Woods institution within the

organizational framework of the UN is deeply misleading and ambiguous. Significantly,

the same is not the case with the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which enjoys a

formally autonomous status. Such a status was possible as the US government insisted on

detachment of the management of the world economy, as far as possible, from the

domain of the UN influence. The IMF and the World Bank are also autonomous

international actors; they are governed by their distinct institutional structures and

accountable to their managerial board, which are composed of country representatives.

Interestingly, the Bretton Woods/WTO system more or less reflects the neo-liberal

outlook dominant in its purest Northern form. It also concentrates on the representation

from the South. The World Bank has also been accused of being insensitive to the

environmental issues in their endorsement of mega-projects in the name of growth­

oriented development. The World Bank system has, however, given scant importance to

UN norms in its daily functioning. Some regard this relationship as outside the UN and

linked to states in the North and to such private sectors as the World Economic Forum.

Such a conceptualisation reflects to a large extent the autonomous character of these

organizations and their being non-accountable to the UN. It is also possible to view the

Bretton Woods institutions, with the addition of the WTO, as the central player in the UN

system (Falk 2002: 187-189)

Although normally portrayed as part of the periphery occupied by specialized

agencies, the IMF and World Bank are independent of the UN. The Bretton Woods

Institutions (BWis), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank were

created to bring about orderly development of the world economy in the post-World War

II era. Over the years, the roles of these institutions have undergone considerable

transformation in response to changes in the economic realities and the dominant

economic thinking. Global market forces are influenced by the World Bank policies.

Though direct representation in the global market is missing, it must be kept in mind that

the indirect influence of the World Bank is quite strong and makes up for the lack of

direct representation. In this regard, the dominating presence of developed member

countries in the World Bank hugely influences the thrust of its policies. Reforming the

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BWls is seen as critical in the efforts to achieve a democratic and fair global economic

governance in the new millennium. The future closer interactions between the World

Bank and the UN system could significantly change the workings of both the entities by

incorporating the democratising demands of transnational social forces for the former,

and the market requirements of globalisation on the latter (Falk 2002: 192-193).

World Bank's Focus on Gender and Development Issues

Beginning in the 1970s, the World Bank shifted focus to gender issues. In 1977,

the World Bank appointed a woman as the Development Advisor, followed by the

establishment of a Women In Development (WID) Unit in 1986. The first gender policy

paper of the World Bank was endorsed in 1994. It was from this effort that the

Operational Policy statement on gender dimension of development was derived

(Operational Policy 4.20). The creation of the External Gender Consultative Group in

1995 by Bank President Wolfensohn improved dialogue on gender-related issues between

the Bank, its partners and certain sectors of civil society. The Bank's emphasis on this

issue increased markedly after the 1995 Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women.

Gender equality is now an explicit element of the World Bank's mission to reduce

poverty. There is a clear understanding that unless inequalities in the opportunities are

taken into account, the Bank's agenda of poverty alleviation would be frustrated.

Furthermore, the Bank has made some changes in its approach to gender issues, in

response to the changing environment for developmental cooperation, including the

adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the formulation of the

Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP).

The MDGs are a blueprint for the development of the international community.

The Beijing Platform for Action is closely linked to the MDGs. The Beijing Platform for

Action recognizes the importance of equal access to resources and calls on governments,

the international community and civil society to take strategic actions to eliminate gender

inequalities in &ccess to education, health care and productive resources. Many societies

have institutions and practices that restrict women's access to productive assets and

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resources such as land ownership, financial services and formal sector employment.

Women continue to have limited access compared to men in a range of productive

resources, including education, health care, land, decent work, information and financial

resources. This limited access affects women's ability to participate in the economy and

to contribute to higher living standards for their families. Inefficient allocation of

productive resources within households causes significant output losses.

Failure to achieve the Beijing objectives is likely to stall the realization of not

only the third Millennium Development Goal- which explicitly sets out to promote

gender equality and to empower women- but the remaining MDGs as well. The MDGs

recognize the correlation between women's lack of income, high child mortality rates,

low-level of primary school enrolment for girls (MDG 2) and the need for poverty

reduction. The shaping of World Bank policies in the light of the MDGs is therefore

crucial to ensure gender parity.

The Bank's sourcebook on PRSPs includes a detailed chapter on ways of

engendering the final document. Scholars like Zuckerman and Qing hold that the Bank

has taken substantial steps towards mainstreaming gender. Nonetheless, gender was

placed in the category of low priority areas among the competing areas demanding the

attention of the Bank. This could be correlated to the lack of mandatory requirements to

attend to gender issues. Consequently, there is a lack of staff at country and regional

levels. Zuckerman and Qing observe that women's rights are given less importance than

economic arguments and that macroeconomic policies are rarely subjected to gender

analysis.

The World Bank has adopted a country-led and country-specific strategy to

integrate the promotion of gender equality issues into its lending and non-lending

assistance. This strategy aims to benefit women and girls by assisting countries to reach

the goals set out in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Bank actions are

discussed under three rubrics i.e., resources, rights, and voice.

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The World Bank believes that by providing women the right to equal access to

productive resources, they can make a direct and positive impact on economic growth,

thereby reducing poverty. The World Bank programmes of development in areas of water

and sanitation, transport, rural and urban development, energy, and private sector seek to

improve women's access to productive resources on multiple fronts. Experiences show

that well-designed interventions can yield large economic benefits to people who are

normally excluded from the formal sector.

To materialize its many goals and programmemes, the World Bank extends

assistance to governments to strengthen their legal and judicial systems. The Bank

believes that a strong legal framework that reflects international commitments and

gender-sensitive enforcement mechanisms can provide good governance, which

eventually contributes significantly to the promotion and protection of women's welfare

and their social, economic, and political rights. The Bank has funded a number of NGO

projects in Egypt, Latin America and Caribbean Region to improve poor women's access

to legal services.

In consonance with the interest expressed by member states at the Fourth Beijing

Conference (1995) for the special protection of women during war and conflict and

similar assertions made by the UN Security Council through its Resolution 1325 (2000),

the Bank's Operational Policy on Development Cooperation and Conflict (OP 2.30)

allows the bank to support states that are transitioning from war to stability, thus enabling

them to achieve economic and social recovery and sustainable development "with

particular attention to the needs of war-affected groups who are especially vulnerable by

reasons of gender, age or disability." Recognizing the importance of gender issues in

post-conflict reconstruction, the World Bank is undertaking several activities aimed at

integrating gender issues into its post-conflict work, including research, awareness

raising, capacity building, and grants.

The Bank has expressed concern for lack of women's access to decision-making

power in the community and nation. Although women have gained the right to vote in

200

nearly all countries, there remain many instances of gender disparities in political

participation and representation at all government levels from local councils to national

assemblies. Women often lack the tools to participate effectively and make their voices

heara at the decision making level.

The World Bank has coordinated gender-related development activities and

shares operational and organizational experiences with other international development

agencies, including those in the United Nations systems, the regional development banks

and bilateral development cooperation agencies. The World Bank is a member of the

United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Gender, Women and Gender Equality. It is an

official observer at the Network on Gender Equality of the Development Assistance

Committee of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),

and is a member of the Multilateral Development Banks/IMF Working Group on Gender.

These groups seek to share experiences and harmonize policies and procedures across

development agencies. The World Bank also participates in sessions of the United

Nations Commission on the Status of Women (World Bank 2005).

Since 1995, the Bank has provided about US $6.3 billion to support girls'

education projects. Over two-thirds of bank loans in the areas of health, nutrition and

population have included gender-related objectives, with particular emphasis on

HIV/AIDS and women's reproductive health. The recent report of the World Bank

celebrates the Bank's contribution to the "Beijing + 10" review meeting and describes

itself as a partner in the international effort to promote gender equality and the

empowerment of women.

The Bank's attention to gender and development issues needs to be discussed to

study the steps of progress the Bank had made for women. Prior to Beijing, the Bank had

always included women in its area of concern as shown by the 1984 Operational Manual

Statement 2.20 which addressed the impact of Bank assistance on women as part of

project appraisal for certain types of ihe projects. In 1986 a Women Development Unit

was created. Furthermore in 1990 Operational Directive on Poverty Reduction

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recommended that women's issues be considered in designing poverty reduction

programmes. In 1994 Operational Policy 4.20 was issued to reduce gender disparities and

enhance women's participation in the economic development of their countries. In 1996

the External Gender Consultative Group was established; progress report on gender

mainstreaming was given to the Board of Executive Directors' Committee on

Development Effectiveness. In 1997 the first woman Development Advisor was

appointed and in 1998 the position of the head of the Gender and Development Board

was raised from a chief manager to a director level.

The World Bank Institute (WBI) also plays an important role in capacity building

on gender equality issues in the Bank's member countries. Every year WBI organizes

about 1,000 training activities that reach approximately 75,000 participants, including

parliamentarians, government ministers and other government officials, and university

students. Women currently represent over one-third of the trainees, and women's

participation has been increasing mainly in "hard sector" training, such as anti-money

laundering, governance, and private sector development.

However, the work of the Bank is subject of strong criticism from a range of

NGOs and academics. The Bank's own internal evaluation also critiques its gender

policies. The Bank has been mostly accused of being a tool of the US and the West for

imposing economic policies that support western interests. It has been accused of

committing environmental and social damage and for not striving to achieve the intended

goal of poverty reduction. Economist Sophie Bessis' trenchant critique of international

institutions such as the World Bank shows them as manipulating gender-equality policies

for their own economic ends. Bessis expresses concern over the fact that though the UN

is increasingly becoming a forum for the exchange and expression of feminist ideas, the

Bank continues to actually retain control of the economic scene (Bessis 200 I: 9)

Scholars like Nuket Kardam are critical about the performances and policy of the

World Bank. He states that many international agencies, inciuding the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, did not seriously begin to

202

integrate gender issues into their operations until the 1990s. Furthermore he observed that

although the United Nations system is a major supporter of gender issues, its financial

resources and influence are relatively limited compared to the Bretton Woods institutions.

The latter promote a neo-liberal paradigm, which does not necessarily give priority to

claims of equality (including gender equality) and social justice over market-based

economic growth and streamlined government (Kardam 2002: 436).

Similarly Anne Winslow is critical of the Bank's target for 'mainstreaming'

women in its policy. She observed that the World Bank in its efforts had moved slightly

faster than the IMF in setting systems to take account of women. Ex-UN staffer Gloria

Scott (Jamaica) was appointed to the project policy department in 1977 as the World

Bank's first Women in Development Officer (WID). Unfortunately, the World Bank

staff, trained in technical, economic, and financial analysis, were slow to accept WID;

women continued to be considered limited by their gender identity. The challenge was to

assert women's influence in the World Bank (Winslow 1995: 165-166).

The increasingly determined activities by women in their own countries and the

UN General Assembly's adoption of the Strategy for the Second UN Development

Decade had the two very different influences on the Bank. The latter brought into sharp

focus the obvious fact that real development could not take place without women.

However, the idea of women-in-development had not, as a rule, entered the institutional

bloodstream; thus, programmes for women tended to be added at some stage of the

process like a series of band-aids. World Bank, by its own admission, in its Organization

Statement on Women stated that it "had not totally ignored women's roles as both

producers and consumers but for a broad range of traditional projects, specific attention

to the role of women had not seemed necessary."

Another handicap was that women's contribution to development tended to be

seen in purely economic terms with emphasis on the control of fertility or the

contribution of women's labour. Though programmes for women increased, they made

little headway. Even when sincere efforts were made at headquarters, they tended to be

203

stymied in the field by staff that by training, inclination, and time constraints, took the old

familiar road. Thus, women became the object of an exercise rather than a partner in its

implementation (Winslow 1995: 166).

Scholars like Navtej K. Purewal argue that Structural Adjustment Programmemes

(SAPs) and population programmemes have provoked criticism from women because of

their failure to respect their reproductive decisions. The experiences of women in various

countries that had undergone 'development' under the auspices of the World Bank and its

SAPs tell an important story about the relationship between population control and wider

development policies. The policies attached to structural adjustment entail public

spending, accentuation of free market principles and, more recently, strict population

control policies. The end result of these policies is isolation and sometimes unexpected

results. In many cases, population growth does not decline; instead it yields results which

are contrary to the aims of the policies. The history of international development

discourse has capitalized upon and emphasized the utility of women in propagating

capitalist development through institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF. Women,

as the primary contributors to the 'caring economy', have been at the centre of both

poverty and development policies (Harcourt 1997) and as a result have been most

affected by policies dealing with sociai welfare as well as those relating to improved

economic performance. The utilization of women in international development discourse

illuminates the undertones of population reduction under the guise of various

development themes (Purewal 2001: 96-99).

Purewal further assesses that the declaration of the UN Women's Decade in 1976

had made a dramatic shift in international development discourse that saw the recognition

of women as active participants in development through their productive and

reproductive roles. During this period the 'equity approach' was adopted, locating the

subordination of women not only in the family but also in relations between men and

women in the marketplace. Women's independence became synonymous with equity,

and won-ten's needs were positioned with titeir rights to earn a livelihood. In the context

of the rise to dominance of the World Bank and the IMF in formulating the consensus on

204

development policy, it became widely accepted that economic strategies had negative

impact on women because they had failed to include them. What was needed was a

means of drawing women into the development process through access to employment

and the marketplace. This period marked the 'women in development' (WID) approach,

which sought to recognize the 'invisible role' or unacknowledged contributions of

women that actually formed the basis for all development reliant upon the household unit.

The inclusion and integration that this period formulated in the equation of development

has brought about access of women to the marketplace. This is a concept at the core of

structural adjustment policies today.

Given the overarching reality that the UN is being eclipsed by the BWis that

increasingly dominate international economic and social policy-making, it has become

increasingly important for women's NGOs to access key decision-makers within the

World Bank. The first World Bank President to attend a UN conference on women was

Wolfensohn; he attended the Beijing meeting. Since 1995 there has also been evidence of

a greater commitment to gender equity within the World Bank. O'Brien et al. have

indicated that the 'Gender Analysis and Policy' thematic group set up in 1995 and the

external Gender Consultative Group, comprised of members of the women's movement

across the world, are existential evidence of a greater willingness on the part of the Bank

to engage women in dialogue about policy related structural adjustment. Wolfensohn has

pressed for gender equity in the workplace and in private sector development projects,

and demanded that the Bank's regional operations focus on gender action plans. The

World Bank also produces an annual report on gender development (O'Brien et al.,

2000). The Bank's strategy of poverty alleviation has promised changes in approach in

order to incorporate governance issues, and attention is now focused more closely on

participation and improved cooperation with women's NGOs. However, these

commitments are often more rhetorical and vague, and most observers seem to agree that

the Bank's actual track record of implementation of these 'vagt·e statements' has been

less impressive (Boas 1999).

205

While women's group have procured some limited success in securing

recognition of women's rights in the UN bodies and agencies, the Bretton Woods

institutions are slightly different in their structural orientations. These are governed by a

rather different ideology and set of values, which works against genuine gender equality.

The NGO connection has helped bring gender issues to the forefront and has done real

actual work towards sensitising the Bank on issues of gender parity (O'Brien et al. 2000).

Broadening the debate on good governance, the World Bank and other Bretton

Woods institutions adopted "good governance" as one of their key goals. This particular

vision of the good governance project involves constructing an effective system of global

governance, as a counterweight to the glohalisation of the world economic system (UN

1996). Good governance demands that women from diverse groups, cultures and

societies are represented and participate fully in the global policy-making process as

women's voices have been missing for too long (Steans 2002: I 02).

Women oriented organisations like the Women in Environment and Development

Organization (WEDO) observed that there is lack of effective participation by women \

from affected communities in the decision making structure of the Bank. Though analysis

on gender related topics are carried out, it does not always translate into actions for

addressing gender inequity. The Bank has failed to assess whether its projects promote

gender equity in its evaluation schemes. Bank-supported macroeconomic policy reforms

continue to be gender-blind. Gender equity concerns are entirely absent in the Bank's

lending to private sector institutions.

The Women's Eyes Campaign in Mexico has conducted a case study on aspects

of the Bank's activities to illustrate its misleading monitoring of gender. The Bank states

that in the case of Mexican labour laws; laws designed to protect workers impose

unnecessary restrictions on employment opportunities for women. The Bank recommends

as a first step reform of such labour laws so as to eliminate obstacles to women's

economic participation and increasing remuneration. In fact, the Women's Eyes

Campaign is of the opinion that the Bank is advocating the dismantlement of the very

206

laws that are the product of a hard-won struggle by women. It appears that behind the

Bank's call for reform of labour laws, lies a concern for efficient labour markets, rather

than concern for women's rights (WEDO 1997).

Scholars like Tsikata argue that though the methodology involved in cases as

mentioned above could be flawed, there is a consensus that women are in the majority of

those suffering the adverse social conditions blamed on Structural Adjustment

Programmemes (SAPs). The Women in Development (WID) policies of the World Bank

since the 1970s have not focused much on gender equality and have instead conducted

piecemeal projects to address poverty, women's welfare or equip them to carry out their

socio-economic functions 'more efficiently' to the benefit of themselves, their children

and the society as a whole.

A number of analysts and activists assert that SAPs have failed in Africa because

most of their assumptions were based on the misconception that a uniform set of

principles can yield successful policies, notwithstanding glaring differences in the social

structures of various countries.

Moreover, SAPs have a negative impact on the environment. Export promotion

has increased extractive activities, such as logging and mining, leading to deforestation

and mining pollution and the reduction in and degradation of land, which can be used for

the livelihood of ordinary people.

Recently, NGOs and women's organisations have become more and more

involved in implementing community-based projects designed within the framework of

SAP policies. This is in reaction to the NGO demands that they be consulted in economic

policy processes. On the other hand, some NGOs consider this to be a foothold into the

policy-making ::>_rena. This is an issue which NGOs need to discuss openly in the spirit of

the women's movement's history of frank dialogue and philosophy of strength in diversity

(Tsikata 1995).

207

The official reports of the World Bank give the impression that the programmes

were very successful. Between 1988 and 1991, World Bank operations with gender­

specific elements relating to women rose from 11 per cent to some 40 per cent- a rather

surprising record for a banking institution not known for its concern for women. Forty­

four per cent of education projects approved in the fiscal year1989 proposed action to

improve female education. Ten out of eleven projects dealing with population, health,

and nutrition and twenty-two out of fifty three projects in agriculture addressed women's

needs. All such activities, according to the World Bank, were directed to the development

of an integrated approach helpful to men as well as to women.

Despite all this, results leave something to be desired. The structural adjustment

and economic recovery programmes that have often been the condition for World Bank

support have come under heavy criticism because they affect most severely women and

girls. It is women who are the first to be dismissed when employment is retrenched, and it

is little girls who are kept at home when school fees are imposed. It is emphasis on tools

made for and adapted to men and capital investments that obliterated programmes to

improve the lot of working women (Winslow 1995: 165).

Michel Chossudovsky raise objection against the authoritative behaviour of the

World Bank, which acts as a custodian and determines the concepts, methociological

categories and data base used to analyse gender issues. The 'donor community' controls

the institutional framework (at the country level) including the Women's Bureau and the

Ministry of Women's Affairs. Since the World Bank constitutes the main source of

funding, national women's organizations associated with the seat of political power,

would often endorse the World Bank's gender perspective. The main objective of the

latter is to demobilize the women's movement while supporting the interests of

international creditors. Moreover, the World Bank framework portrays a 'free' market

society composed of individuals of both sexes. In this context, women are identified as

belonging to a separate social category distinct from men (as if men and women belonged

to different social classes). In other words, the confrontation between men and women

208

(i.e. as individuals) is viewed as the main source of social conflict. The concentration of

power and corporate wealth has no bearing on the analysis of gender.

Modernity and 'the empowerment of women' through the market process are the

means to achieving gender equality. The system of global trade and finance is never in

doubt; the role of global institutions (including the World Trade Organisation and the

Bretton Woods institutions) is not a matter for serious debate. Yet this global economic

system (based on 'cheap labour' and the private accumulation of wealth) ultimately

constitutes one of the main barriers to the achievement of gender equality. In tum, the

neo-liberal gender perspective (under the trusteeship of the 'donors') is largely intended to

create divisions within national societies and demobilize the struggle of women and men

against the macro-economic model (Third World Resurgence No. 61/62, Sept/Oct 1995).

The feminists and other development activists have given their utmost attention to

the World Bank, more than the IMF and WTO. This is because the Bank has the most

direct impact on development, due to its funding through loans for Third World

development. Moreover, it has been more accessible and responsive to civil society

campaigns than the other two institutions. The IMF and the WTO have proved difficult

bodies to be influenced, given their stand that gender issues are irrelevant to their work.

The major achievement for gender issues is the decision by the Bank to

'mainstream gender' after the Fourth United Nations Conference on Women. James

Wolfensohn, its former President took concrete steps to have gender issues integrated

into the Bank's decisions and operations. However, recent evaluations indicate that there

is still a long way to go in taking mainstreaming beyond rhetoric. Feminists with an

interest in the global political economy see the Bank as an important site for activism

since it is a major source of funds for Third World development. The Bank also dedicates

a high level of funds to research and economic analysis, but its ability to have an impact

on gender politics is more pervasive. The World Bank enjoys a powerful position to

pressure governments to introduce policies to benefit women and girls through its

209

Country Assistance Strategies. However, the Bank has become a hostage to the views of

national elite women due to its limited consultation mechanisms.

The World Bank determines the concepts, methodological categories and data

base to analyse gender issues. At the country level, the 'donor community' controls the

institutional framework. The national women's organisations associated with the seat of

political power, often endorse the World Bank gender perspective. Importantly, the

World Bank is of the opinion that investing in girls and women, and involving them in

economic activities, increases economic efficiency (World Bank 2001). James

Wolfensohn has stressed on a number of areas that will benefit from women's

involvement. At the 1995 Beijing Women's Conference, he delivered a speech entitled

'Women and the Transformation of the 21st century'. Here he pointed out the women's

role in efforts towards sustainable development, economic advancement and social

justice. In other documents, Wolfensohn reaffirmed his 'commitment to the crucial

importance of harnessing their talents with equal opportunity and fairness for all'. He also

indicated that empowerment of women is the key to the overall development of a society

(Wolfensohn 1995).

The World Bank· was noticeably absent from the World Conference on Human

Rights in Vienna in 1993. Interestingly, the Bank does not view human rights as an area

of relevance to its work. The Bank is governed by its original Charter, which is based on

"the Articles of Agreement" drafted at the time of the creation of the institution. The

Articles prohibit the Bank and its officers from interference in the internal political affairs

of any member state. This prohibition has been the basis for the repeated claims by the

Bank that it is prevented from taking any action to promote human rights (Gaeta and

Vasilara 1998: 3).

A key element of "Integrating Gender in the World Bank's Work: A Strategy for

Action" is the requirement for client countries to provide periodic multi-sectoral Country

Gender Assessments. 'vW~ile these are mandatory, gender-responsive actions are not. The

involvement of civil society organisations is not a requirement for information sharing

210

and for transparency in the implementation or evaluation of the strategy. Finally, the

strategy lacks references to women's right to enjoy their human rights.

Scholars like Zuckerman and Qing indicate that many of the Bank's country­

based Gender Focal Points lack either the expertise or the time (or both) to identify and

investigate gender issues, which is reflected in country documents. While the

Washington-based 'gender anchor' was active, its work did not penetrate to the Bank's

main areas of operation.

Nasreen Khundker, an economist, provides a critique of the gender strategy of the

World Bank. He examines the basic premises, which define the Bank's gender strategy

and how they relate to the Bank's fundamental principles in terms of economic policy. He

feels that in order to bring about changes in key gender areas like education, health, and

violence against women, the Bank's fundamental premises are questionable. Some of the

key premises underlying the Bank's gender strategy are for instance: gender equality,

especially with regard to rights, resources and voice, leads to higher economic growth

and greater poverty reduction; men and women face different constraints and

opportunities in the process of economic growth; there is a relationship between

inequality m terms of incomes ahd gender inequality, i.e. there is greater gender

inequality amongst the poor within a country, and in poorer countries; and the

comparative advantage of the Bank in defining economic policies. Based on these

premises as laid down in documents such as "Integrating Gender into the World Bank's

Work: A Strategy for Action" (World Bank 2002), the Bank outlines the need for

conducting periodic gender assessments in a country (CGAs). It also calls for the

designing of country specific strategies based on cultural and social differences, which

includes different gender patterns and building partnership with civil society and other

UN bodies to define strategies and share knowledge. Gender training of Bank staff, is

moreover, an integral part of this strategy.

The World Dank is in favour of privatisation though such a policy has had an

adverse effect. It has led to widespread unemployment, not only of men but also of

211

women, reduced incomes for families, greater domestic violence, and less opportunities

for workers' children in terms of education and health. This is true not only of most of the

developing countries, but also of countries undergoing a transition from socialist to

capitalist structures. In Mongolia, for instance, boys have been withdrawn from school to

herd cattle. The men face unemployment, which has led to alcoholism and greater

violence against women. Similar pattern was seen in other parts of the world too where

World Bank had carried out its economic policies. Given this overall context, it is

questionable whether sectoral goals in education and health and efforts to reduce gender

disparities can be of much success. Gender violence, on the other hand, cannot be

reduced simply through laws or social interventions. These consequences of the Bank's

policies in fact reveal that gender is a cross-cutting issue, and cannot be addressed in

isolation.

Similarly, proposed changes in financial policies such as privatization

(synonymous with closure) of state-owned banks is likely to deprive rural areas of formal

banking services. However the effort should be to increase the accessibility of women to

formal banking services, not curtail such services. The overall effect on growth and

poverty of such measures will negatively impact both men and women (Khundker 2004).

In her insightful paper on the World Bank efforts to promote gender equality,

Carolyn M. Long examined groups interested in advocating women's rights in Bank­

funded initiatives. According to her, the most influential voices regarding gender issues at

the World Bank are the women from the donor countries. Women in borrower countries

have not been given the opportunity to participate adequately or appropriately in Bank

policy and project formulation, design, implementation and evaluation.

Many gender specialists from the South are also of the opinion that while the

Bank is promoting gender mainstreaming, it is at the same time supporting macro­

economic policies that further the interests of transnational corporations in search of new

markets and new sources of cheap labour. This double policy is counter-productive as it

reinforces the exclusion of disadvantaged social groups, especially women.

212

Since its inception, the mission of the Bank has been to promote economic growth

in middle and low-income countries through loans to client governments. During the

1980s, especially following the Bank's introduction of structural adjustment programmes

for client countries, NGOs and others, the Bank began paying more attention to

alleviating poverty. However, in real terms, it has had an adverse effect on developing

countries per se. In 1990, the Bank had announced that its major objective would be

poverty reduction. However, given its primary focus on lending for economic growth, the

Bank encountered serious difficulties in attempting to redirect its energy to reducing

poverty. The organizational ambivalence about a focus on poverty meant that emphasis

continued to be placed on efficiently preparing and making loans (Long 2003).

Scholars like Sophie Bessis indicate that for the past many years, the Bank has

taken a keen interest in women's issues, earlier thought as peripheral to the Bank's

overall policies. The Bank, in general, takes up an issue once it has acquired sufficient

visibility. It looks as if the Bank was afraid of being left behind on the idea of gender

mainstreaming. Hence, it has taken up the issue with a sense of urgency. In this respect,

the case of women's issues is similar to that of the environment. Although the Bank did

not concern itself with the future of the planetary ecosystem for decades, it shifted gear

and showed a sudden penchant for this issue at the exact moment when the environment

became a central theme in the debate on economic growth and choice, and one of the new

battlefields in the North-South conflict.

It was only in the mid-1970s that the Bank discovered women in response to the

United Nations request that it participate in the first international conference organised on

this theme in Mexico City in 1975. Once the United Nations proclaimed the years 1975 to

1985 the 'International Decade for Women,' the second half of the 1970s witnessed the

flourishing of 'women's integration in development' among the international funders. In

1997, the Bank named the Women and Development Counsellor (who wielded neither

power nor money) in a cosmetic fashion; in 1979, it published its first document on the

subject. During the first half of the 1980s, the Bank's interest in gender gradually

increased, as is evident in the thirty-five case studies and evaluations published between

213

1979 and 1985. But no money was set aside for this issue. The financial commitment that

would have reinforced women's participation in the economy of developing countries

was almost nonexistent. This trend reflected that the institution was not interested enough

to devote the only thing that counted- money, for project funding.

It must be noted here that at this point of time the World Bank had other worries

and priorities. The beginning of the I 980s brought about the international debt crisis and

the crucial period for setting up structural adjustment policies designed to bring indebted

countries into line with economic and financial orthodoxy. The World Bank was assigned

the mission of converting developing countries to the model of economic liberalisation

built upon the gradual shrinking of the state sector and generalised competition among all

national economies around the globe. Women's issues could wait.

By 1987, the World Bank began to place additional resources at the disposal of

the unit responsible for putting this transformation into action. From the late 1980s

onward, a significant number of projects drawn up and financed by the Bank included a

'gender dimension'. For example, of the 4,955 projects financed between 1967 and 1993,

most of the 6 I 5 World Bank projects approved between 1988 and 1991 had such a

gender dimension. Since then, the approval rhythm of 'gender projects' has stabilized.

This change in the general policy of the Bank was due to its understanding that

the return on investment in women's projects was far greater than had been imagined.

The Bank affirmed that the reinforcement of women's roles facilitated economic growth,

improved family health and decreased fertility, in accordance with a document prepared

for the Fourth United Nations Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995 (World

Bank I 995c ). The Bank administrators believed that this improvement was a key

strategic element in the struggle against poverty.

With this in mind, the World Bank set itself two main goals. Firstly, to reduce

women's domestic burden. The IDA would henceforth target programmemes designed to

provide safe drinking water for villages, mechanised the transformation of basic grains,

214

or to set up community structures for childcare. The second goal was to encourage

member states to modify their legislation in four key areas: property law- since women in

most parts of the globe have been deprived of access to property and have only limited

access to land; labour law- the World Bank recommended greater flexibility in labour

codes that forbade women in certain jobs considered too 'dangerous' for them (Herz,

Subbarao et al. 1993; Carolyn 1994); family law; and financial law (World Bank 1995).

However, these goals were more or less in the realm of an eye-wash. For the Bank,

encouraging a more egalitarian evolution of the law stems less from ethical concern than

from pragmatic interest. The Bank mostly looked at women for their economic utility

rather than imbibing any ethical concern for their under-privileged status in society.

Generally speaking, the world has experienced a "feminization" of poverty since

the beginning of the 1980s. In those countries that base their development on

manufacturing, female unemployment has increased at a greater rate than male

unemployment. The duration of unemployment is also longer for women than for men

and women make up the bulk of the long-term unemployed.

However, according to the Bank, any apparent contradictions between discourse

and reality would disappear in the future, because the institution's administrators have

pledged to evaluate the impact of all projects on women's lives from the very outset. Yet

many observers-even those who support lobbying for Bank projects are suspicious of the

World Bank's relatively late championship of women's rights. The World Bank's

discourse can never be seen as neutral. The only arguments that the Bank puts forward to

rationalize its interest in gender issues are generally of an economic order: investing in

women is profitable, hence justified.

The Bank's femini'Sm appears to be its latest tool to confine poverty within the

limits of what is politically 'accep•able'. The Banks gender policies continue the very

strategy of containment, which has always been its trademark. What could be a counter­

argument is that the Bank, by joining the current revolution in gender relations, is

unwittingly contributing to the advent of a new era in economics in which the idea of

215

development takes priority over that of growth. This policy also recognises women's

contribution to social and community needs as being larger than that of men.

The gender issues in the World Bank have actually started as a footnote. The

challenge ahead is to translate this sudden commitment into tangible results and hold the

World Bank accountable. The Fourth World Conference on Women (1995) produced the

Beijing Platform for Action, a visionary roadmap on the path to gender equality. This is a

consensus document agreed to by nearly two hundred countries, representing distinct and

divergent cultures and, in some cases, nations engaged in protracted conflicts with each

other.

The growing interest in gender equality that emerged between the Third and the

Fourth World Conferences on Women (Nairobi in 1985 and Beijing in 1995) has

effectively chipped away a number of entrenched paradigms. Gender is being analysed

and there is an exploration of power relations in terms and methods that are far less

threatening than the discourse on patriarchy or oppression. Women's empowerment is

both a strategy option and a prerequisite to gender mainstreaming. UNIFEM's

programmemes have demonstrated that women's empowerment and gender

mainstreaming are both cmcial and interlinked.

As stated earlier, the World Bank has jumped on the gender 'bandwagon' and

because it does not want to be left out of the gender 'fad.' Sophie Bessis, a distinguished

scholar on gender, also believes that the Bank has an 'instmmentalist' approach to gender

mainstreaming: if more women could help move the Bank's economic agenda forward,

then the Bank would not mind being feminist. The World Bank may have realised the

economic weight and potential of women through an assessment of the failed stmctural

adjustment programmemes it strongly supported. What is, however, important is that the

Bank has developed a gender policy and that its President has committed the institution to

integrate gender issues in all its programmemes and policies, the concept of gender fad

notwithstanding. This does not mean that the Bank has become, or will become a

216

'feminist' institution. It is up to women to use the Bank's current goodwill and financial

resources without being manipulated (Bessis 2001: I 0-12).

World Bank Staff: Recruitment Criteria

There are different levels of Grade in the World Bank's profession. Lower grade

comprises of GA, GB, GC, and GD. These services cover such functions as clerks,

secretaries and administrative support staff. Higher grade consists of GE, GF, GG,

comprising of consultants and analysts. Grade levels GH, GI, GJ+ are the directors and

senior economists. likewise numerical are also used to identify different levels of Grade

starting from YP, 18 till 30. Young Professional Pro~ammelhigher level grade is

between 18 to 21. Consultant assignments are at grades equivalent to 22 and above.

Senior position level begins at 25 and above and Management level Grade starts at 26

and above.

The World Bank Group hires both at international and local level. Global mobility

and international experience are essential for international appointments; these

appointments are for positions in World Bank Group headquarters in Washington, DC.

Global mobility and international experience are not required for local appointments; the

country offices undertake these appointments (Frankovits 2004).

The Bank gives preference to experts with strong academic training, successful

records of achievement (generally a minimum of five years of relevant experience), a

broad and in-depth understanding of development issues and international work

experience preferably at the policy level. Work experience in the private sector is also

valued and is viewed as a way of renewing and updating the Bank's skills base and

improving diversity. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills for working in an

international and team-based environment are preferred. In addition to proficiency in

English, language skills in Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish are

often required. There seems to be a move towards more experienced candidates with

relevant, practical work experience and a master's degree, either in economics, finance, or

health, education and population.

217

The starting point for a career in the World Bank is the Young Professionals

Programme (YPP). Designed for highly qualified and motivated young people skilled in

areas relevant to the World Bank's operations such as economics, finance, education,

public health, social sciences, engineering, urban planning, and natural resource

management, the Programme is instrumental in recruiting the professionals. In order to be

eligible for this highly selective Programme, a probable recruit must have demonstrated a

commitment to development, supported by academic success, professional achievement,

and potential for leadership. The Programme also encourages qualified men and women,

including those with disabilities, with diverse professional, academic, and cultural

backgrounds, to apply to the Young Professionals Programme. Each year, the YPP

receives about I 0,000 applications and interviews approximately 130 applicants for 30 to

40 posts. Many factors come into play in choosing candidates, including professional and

academic credentials, leadership potential, gender and diversity (World Bank 1998).

World Bank has followed two main ways of recruiting staffs. Firstly, they have a

programme, which sets age limit and hires all recruits at the same initial level. This is

designed to recruit a young cadre of professionals who have little work experience with

recent academic qualifications. At present around 20 per cent of current World Bank staff

started out as Young Professionals (YP). In general, YP recruits undergo a more uniform

and rigorous interview and selection process than other recruits. The applicant pool is

also far larger relative to the number of positions being filled than for other job openings.

For this reason, YP's can be expected to be a relatively homogeneous group in terms of

characteristics such as technical ability and communications skills. Secondly, recruitment

of staff who are not Young Professionals, follows a number of Jess formal routes, which

also tend to be Jess controlled by personnel or by concerns of the greater good of the

institution at large. Some come in through open recruitment, while others are directly

identified and hired by managers. The difference between the Young Professionals

recruitment process and the Jess regulated process for the rest of the staff hired provides

an interesting comparison for tests of discrimination.

218

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) recruits management graduates as

top-level corporate executives, from the US and Europe, with a background in finance

and, ideally, some developing-country experience. Approximately, annually 10 to 15

fresh recruitments are made, along with 30 to 40 BAs for the analyst programme. Mid­

career professionals with prior experience in project finance are also hired, often sourced

through staff referrals or external advertising.

The Bank recruits 250 to 300 people per year from all over the world who are in

their mid-career level of professional work, with 10 to 15 years of relevant work

experience. The disciplines include health, education, public-sector management, private­

sector development, finance, economics, transport, water and procurement. The Bank

offers a variety of employment contracts for mid career professionals, open-ended or

term-based, commensurate with the business needs of specific units. Open-ended

Appointment is an appointment of indefinite duration. Term appointment is an

appointment for a specified duration of a minimum of one year and a maximum of four

years (Frankovits 2004). A comprehensive and integrated approach to management

selection and professional development has been introduced. Searches are undertaken

internationally for jobs that require global outlook and experience and for which the

personnel are expected to be globally mobile. Managers are also hired locally when their

work programmes warrant it. It has in place developed professional training programmes;

which allow access to development and training opportunities for staff in local offices. A

systematic and sustained programme was designed for Bank Group recruitments in order

to maintain a diverse workforce of professional excellence.

A comprehensive reform of its human resource policies was designed in a

participative and consultative process with staff, management, and shareholders. The

outcome of the policy proposals (including a reform of the pension plan) was approved

by the Board of Executive Directors in April 1998. The fundamental aims and principles

guiding the reforms are the following: attract and maintain excellent professionals; to

achieve a unified and diverse staff; to link pay with performance; to provide staff with the

opportunity for professional growth; to foster continuous learning, accountability, and

219

teamwork; and to treat all staff fairly. The compensation and benefits policy was to

strengthen mobility incentives for participants in the existing Staff Retirement Plan. The

plan was amended to allow participants to retire with an accrued pension starting at age

fifty. The World Bank sponsors a comprehensive pension plan for its staff. Both the staff

and the World Bank contribute towards pension, which is utilized by the staff members

upon retirement.

Table 5.1: Female Representation in the Bank/MIGA and the IFC.

FY TOTAL ON BOARD OF WHICH BANK/MIG A IFC

Total of which Women Total of which Women Total of which Women Levels 22-24 FY92 2.523 567 22% 2.279 533 23% 244 34 14% FY93 2.622 628 24% 2.330 575 25% 292 53 18% FY94 2.697 708 26% 2.406 651 27% 291 57 20% Levels 25+ FY92 1.036 83 8% 873 76 9% 163 7 4% FY93 1.099 106 10% 930 100 II% 169 6 4% FY94 1.149 126 II% 980 120 12% 169 6 4% Levels 26 FY92 405 35 9% 341 32 9% 64 3 5% FY93 429 44 10% 361 40 II% 68 4 6% FY94 449 52 12% 383 47 12% 66 5 8% Level 28 FY92 87 6 7% 67 5 7% 20 I 5% FY93 94 9 10% 74 8 II% 20 I 5% FY94 95 9 9% 73 8 II% 22 I 5%

Source: Women m the Bank Group: A Review of Progress, Issues and Future Actions, 1994.

Comparison of Female Representation between the Bank and the IFC This section compares progress between the Bank arid the IFC as two separate

institutions, although obviously the size of each is not comparable (e.g. the Bank's Africa

Region staff, at 557, in levels 22 and above is larger than IFC's at 460), shows the total

staff on board at 22 and above for 1992-1994 periods as shown in tabie 5.1. TI1e Bank has

a higher percentage of women on its staff in these levels at 23% (or 771) compared to

IFC at 14% (or 63). The Bank is also showing a faster rate of progress, particularly at

levels 25 and above although again, the actual numbers of senior levels in IFC are small,

so percentage can be misleading. In fact, IFC has made strides in achieving better

representation in management at level 26 with 8% (or 5) now in these positions. More

220

intensive recruitment efforts in IFC during FY93 had improved their overall profile, but

this trend did not continue during FY94.

Position of Women in the World Bank Administration

In spite of the objective hiring policies adopted by the World Bank which aims at

promoting cultural diversity, reducing costs and avoiding discrimination on grounds of

region or gender one can see a sharp trade-off in their objectives. For instance, recruiting

from an international labour market enhances diversity but international organizations

face unusually large differences in 'reservation wages' for staff performing the same

work. One way of reducing costs would be to pay employees their reservation wages,

implying unequal pay for equal work or discrimination. The situation becomes more

appalling if one looks at the overall position of women in the administration of the Bank

in terms of under-representation, general gender stereotyping, gender prejudices at the

workplace and so on due to different factors. Few of the factors are discussed hereunder.

Unequal Pay Package

In 1994, the World Bank's Development Research Group tried to assess the

presence of gender bias in their study on 'Pay and Grade Differentials at the World

Bank.' The study group attempted to estimate the disparities in salaries and differences in

the productive characteristics of workers mainly focusing on differences between men

and women. Their findings indicated that around half of salary and grade differentials

between men and women staff from high-and low-income countries are attributable to

differences in worker characteristics. A number of alternative explanations were explored

including omitted variable bias, quotas imposed to assure diversity, and discrimination in

hiring and promotion. It was, however, observed that neither the omitted variable bias nor

quotas were compelling explanations for disparities, and that discrimination probably

existed, though certainly less than would be implied, from the cost-minimizing hiring

policy. Recent hiring processes have succeeded in reducing salary and grade differentials

that cannot be attributed to observed differences in worker characteristics.

221

One of the interesting findings of the 1994 study is that the persons recruited from

Part -I countries that are mainly donor countries receive hundred per cent salaries and

those recruited from Part -II countries, i.e., personnel from developing countries are

given only 95 per cent. A strong gender bias is also noted in the salary structure. The

women personnel from the Part-I countries usually received only 87 per cent salary and

women from Patt -II countries were given only 82 per cent salary.

Work Culture in the Bank Administration

The high quality of the Bank's multi-national staff creates an intellectually

stimulating environment. Considering the Bank's premium on intellect there has been a

presumption that nationality, racial and gender biases do not exist. However, the

Advisory Group consulted with staff, and conducted focus groups, which revealed

widespread perceptions of gender bias. Since staff came from diverse cultures with

differing standards for male-female relationships, gender differences in attitudes were

compounded at the Bank. The Bank instead of trying to appreciate such differences and

deal with them has tended to ignore them.

The report of the Advisory group on higher level women's issues (1992) observed

that one major problem cited by many staff was the "double standard" behaviour. There

were differences in the perception of viewing career of women in the Bank. Women were

generally expected to be better than men to be judged equally competent or productive.

The assertive women risked being considered as aggressive and marked as poor team

players when compared to men who were equally assertive in their behaviour and they

were acknowledged positively. Similarly, although aging in men was associated with

wisdom and relevant experience, age in women was identified with being "over the hill".

A successful young man was viewed positively as a high flyer; while implicit or explicit

questions are often raised over a successful young woman who has primarily advanced

on the basis of merit. Since some women lack assertiveness to represent their problem

particularly if they come from a society that expects women to be reserved, it compounds

the problem. When they wholly believe the organisation would take care for their

222

progress and they would not ask for it, these attitudes purposely or inadvertently

disadvantage women (Advisory group on higher level women's issues 1992)

The report of the Advisory group on higher level women's issues ( 1992) further

observed that gender based discrimination exists in many ways within the managerial set

up in the Bank. Men often discriminate against women directly and indirectly in ways

embedded in "accepted" behaviour; the consequences are seldom perceived. There were

many other ways in which women are not treated as equals. Actions range from ignoring

comments of women at meetings, to limiting a woman's pay raise because her husband

works and expecting women to serve coffee. Such observations may seem laughable in

this age, but they are a reality to many women at the Bank.

Managers may assume that women would not or should not take a field

assignment that would require them to go to particular countries or regions, fearing that

women are poor negotiators. Women are also considered as unworthy candidates in

leading large missions and it is assumed that having a woman on a mission upsets the

camaraderie. When women have been given positions of mission leadership, some have

reported that male colleagues have undercut their authority with clients' officials.

In fact, they found that gender stereotyping influences performance assessments,

merit reviews, promotions and other career opportunities, which all amount to barriers in

women's career advancement. Management styles, recognition and reward systems,

individual interactions, policies and procedures- all are influenced to some degree by

myths and perceptions related to gender stereotyping. The study team emphasised in this

context that all management training should include sessions to increase awareness of

how traditional attitudes and behaviour create barriers to the development and promotion

of women.

Though the World Bank has expressed its preference for gender sensitivity in its

recruitment policies, it states at the same time that it is hard for it to hire women from

countries which have not traditionally encouraged women to work outside home, or to

223

induce them to move to Washington. Another reason is that language and communication

skills vary across individuals and English is not the primary language of these women.

However, the World Bank's personnel department continues to state that it plays an

active role to address the problem of discrimination and it has begun trying to ensure that

the Bank meets its mandate of achieving staff diversity. It also emphasises that a

conscious effort has been made for greater centralization of recruitment decisions and

close monitoring to reduce horizontal inequity.

Inadequate Career Development Programme

Studies have also found that differentials of statistics with regard to the

distribution of staff at different levels among men and women. Women are mostly

recruited at lower grades than men, and ~art II country staffs are recruited at lower grades

than Part I country staff. Men belonging to Part I countries have historically dominated

the World Bank staff and that they remain the largest staff group (accounting for 45 per

cent). The study group had also explained that the grade distribution of men was tilted in

favour of higher grades in contrast to the grade distribution of women, even though the

average duration of employment tended to be similar across groups or levels (Filmer et

al. 1998).

The World Bank Advisory Group on Higher-Level Women's Issues had written a

report on 'Excellence Through Equality: An Increased Role for Women in the World

Bank' in April 1992. It found that the women who worked at lowest grade levels (18 to

21) were one of the disaffected groups and were found highest in number. Though World

Bank does not differentiate between the staff with lower and higher level grades in

principle, but intrinsically certain differences exist. The women who are at this lower

level do not get frequent promotion opportunities, because of the career advancement

limitations in these grades. To the women who work in this lower level cadre, these

limitations are not usually explained, this adds to their frustration level. Even certain

staffs with good academic qualifications are suitable for higher grades (levels 22 to 23).

They too get discarded f01 reasons like lack of competence compared to external

candidates.

224

Table 5.2: Promotion data, levels 22 and above, FY92 to mid-FY97

I'Y92 I'Y93 FY94 I'Y95 FY96 ivlid-I'Y97 Time in Time in Time in Tin1c in 'J'imcin 'I'ime in prev1ou preVIOUS previous preVIOUS previous previous s level level level level level level

J.evcl ivl F I' %F tv! I F tv! , .. I' %F rvr I F M F p %1' M IF M F ]> 0/o J< ~~ I F ~~ F I' %F Ml F ~~ F p %F Ml F 22 36 38 74 51.4 1.7 2.7 37 40 77 51.9 1.5 2 57 47 104 45.2 2.5 2.2 161 57 218 26.1 2 2.3 35 42 77 54.5 1.9 2 19 20 39 51.3 2.8 2.7 23 71 31 102 30.4 3.1 2.8 64 40 104 38.5 2.7 2.9 47 46 93 49.5 2.7 2.7 94 56 150 37 3 2.6 2.5 45 38 83 45.8 3.9 3 21 15 36 41.7 1.9 2.6 24 152 43 195 22.1 4 4.3 124 36 160 22.5 3 4.1 132 48 180 26.7 3.7 4 65 43 108 39.8 3.5 3.3 85 41 126 32.5 3.6 4.2 46 17 63 27.0 2.8 2 5 25 75 13 88 14.8 5.3 5.9 75 22 97 22.7 5.6 4.7 92 17 109 15.6 5.6 4.6 66 12 78 I 5.4 6 5 I 45 IS 60 25.0 5.3 5.9 37 9 46 19.6 5.8 4.8 26 54 8 62 12.9 3.6 2.4 30 13 43 30.2 3.7 2.3 45 8 53 15.1 4.8 2.4 32 8 40 20.0 H ~ ' 20 6 26 23.1 3.9 3.6 13 (i 19 31.6 4.2 3.1 -27 18 0 18 0.0 6.6 - 2 2 4 so.o 5.5 4.7 8 0 8 0.0 5.5 - 11 3 14 21.4 8.5 3.2 9 3 12 25.0 4.5 7.8 3 3 6 50.0 5.8 3.3 28 7 3 10 30.0 4.9 4.9 11 3 14 21.4 5.4 3.8 8 1 9 11.1 3.8 .H 13 I 14 7.1 6.4 1.6 6 3 9 33.3 5.1 2.4 3 1 4 25.0 6.5 2.4 29 6 1 7 14.3 4.7 4.7 3 0 3 0.0 5.9 1 0 I 0.0 6.6 - 2 0 2 0.0 6.7 5 I 6 16.7 4.6 0.6 0 0 0 0.0 30 I 0 I 0.0 9.3 - 0 0 0 0.0 - 1 0 1 0.0 19.5 - 0 0 () 00 0 0 () 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 31 0 0 () 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 - 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 f) 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 () 0 0.0 -

.. Source: At a Turnmg Pomt, Oftrce of the SeniOr Advrsor on Gender Equality, World Bank Group, March 1997.

225

The Advisory Group has also stated that even though promotions from 18 to 21

groups are infrequent, procedures are inconsistent across regions and complexes. They

referred in some cases to staff at grades 20 or 21, who were screened using similar

clearance procedures required for external candidates for intake at grade 22. In other

cases, individuals were promoted by obtaining endorsement and clearance from their

management chain as part of the management review process. The Advisory Group noted

that inconsistency in promotions to higher grades is not perceived so much as a gender

issue as it is a matter of fair treatment. However, about two-thirds of staff in grades 18 to

21 were women and were found to be affected by this immobility when compared to

men. Likewise, for the levels 22 and up the women are affected by immobility. For

instance, a Report from the World Bank Office of the Senior Advisor on Gender Equality

( 1997) analysing the promotion data for the level 22 and above from 1992 to mid-1997

show that for the year 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1997 the number of women promoted was

50 per cent and above (51.4 -54.5 per cent) for the level 22; for 1992 - 1997 the female

promotion percentage was less than 50 per cent for the level 23. During these periods the

highest women promotion percentage was in 1994 which is 49.5 per cent; for the level

24, during the same period, i.e. 1992 - 1997, the female promotion percentage was less

than 40 per cent- the highest female promotion percentage for the this level was in 1995

which is 39.8 per cent; for the level 25, during the same period, i.e. 1992 - 1997, the

female promotion percentage was below 30 per cent-the highest female promotion

percentage for the this level was in 1996 which is 25 per cent; for the level 26, during the

same period, i.e. 1992 - 1997, the female promotion percentage was less than 32 per

cent- the highest female promotion percentage for the this level was in 1997 which is

31.6 per cent; for the level 27, during the same period, i.e. 1992 - 1997, the female

promotion percentage fluctuated between 0 percent in 1992 and 1994 to 50 per cent in

1993 and 1997; for the level 28, during the same period, i.e. 1992- 1997, the female

promotion percentage was less than 34 per cent- the highest female promotion percentage

for the this level was in 1996 which is 33.3 per cent; for the level 29, dJring the same

period, i.e. 1992 - 1997, the female promotion percentage was less than 17 per cent- the

highest female promotion percentage for the this level was in 1996 which is 16.7 per

cent. During 1993-1995 and 1997 the female promotion percentage was nil; nil for levels

226

30 and 31 for the entire period. It needs mention that women took less time for promotion

compared to men despite the smaller percentage of women who are promoted thereby not

affecting the overall gender representation in Bank in the various levels (refer table 5.2).

Indeed the study on salary and promotion equity found that promotions rates are equal

between women and men at all levels, except for moving from level 21 to 22 (excluding

YPs) where men appear to have an unexplained promotion advantage (World Bank

Office of Senior Advisor on Gender Equality 1997).

World Bank Advisory Group further cites the Attitudinal Surveys conducted since

1981 by the Study Team on the Personnel Function of World Bank staff. During that

survey, they found that there were inadequacies with the career development programme.

Their focus groups also confirmed that there was widespread dissatisfaction among the

staff of both men and women. The shortcomings revealed through the study, included

lack of an integrated system for guiding career development through orientation,

mentoring, training, and setting of performance standards. Another Attitude Survey,

which was conducted during the year 1990, came out with the findings that two-thirds of

the World Bank staff believed that the system for promotions and career development

was not transparent. The staff claimed that the criteria for advancement were not static

and raised doubts over its inconsistencies. In that survey men as well as women noted

these deficiencies (Advisory group on higher level women's issues 1992)

Imbalanced Networking

At the Bank, as elsewhere, networking is a key element in selection,

reassignment, promotion and job-related support. Managers in the Bank and elsewhere

have the tendency to hire, support and promote those with whom they feel personally

comfortable. For many, networks are based on professional ties established many years

ago. There were then few women with whom to share work experiences, cultural ties,

influence, or other affinities.

Women often are not in these networks, which mean that women staff consultants

are less likely to come to mind when managers are seeking candidates. Even effective

227

informal networks for women are not a substitute for formal mechanisms to facilitate

advancement such as career development programmes and training. Formal mechanisms

to assure fairness for women and men should be the basic mechanism, supplemented by

networks and other informal channels. Hence a study team suggested that the managerial

training needs to be made available to all potential managers and the Staff Training

Division should ensure balanced representation of women in all training programmes.

They also suggested that the Staff Development Division ensure that women are

appropriately represented in the programmes being designed to improve career

development planning for all staff. For those personnel who owing to family obligations

or other reasons wish to travel less, the study team has suggested that the Staff

Development Division should develop a system to provide information about jobs that

require less travel to staff who want to limit their business travel for limited periods and

provide assistance to staff which requests such reassignments. Transfers to such jobs

should be treated as routine career development moves (Advisory group on higher level

women's issues 1992).

Sexual Harassment

The Advisory Group on Highest Level Women's Issues in April 1992 cited an

important attitudinal survey conducted in the year 1985. In this survey the World Bank

staffs were asked if they had experienced sexual harassment during the previous two

years. Of some 5,000 respondents, 6.5 per cent reported unwelcome sexual advances and

1.5 per cent reported attempted coercion. Of these, 85 per cent were women. Even the

current consultations also proved that similar behaviours still exist in the organisation.

They found that women generally did not complain to Personnel Department basically

due to personal fear that they may face professional retribution from their higher officials

or their perpetrator. The lack of attention to the issue, the absence of secure and

supportive channels to discuss problems, and the uncertainty that remedial action will be

taken are seen as official tol~rance of such behaviour. The study team pointed out that the

Bank's general policy statements have proven insufficient deterrents and thus women

find the work environment intimidating and the Bank as unsupportive for their cause.

228

The World Bank strengthened prevention and combating of sexual harassment

only in 1995, whereby, institutional mechanisms were brought in force. Anti Harassment

Advisors' network was expanded to all country offices, which enabled dissemination of

information to all the staff regarding issues of harassment. Even an integrated approach

towards combating harassment was used through Conflict Resolution Networks. With the

institutional mechanism already in place and furnishing the desired results, the Bank

changed its orientation and laid emphasis more on creating a respectful work

environment. This orientation was largely due to change in the Bank's policy of making

gender a prerogative of both men and women and considering differences as assets. This

approach through new training programmes promoted awareness among individuals on

impact of one's behaviour on staffs (Womenwatch 2000).

Reforms for Gender Parity in the Bank

For long the World Bank group was unprepared to discuss openly the sensitive

1ssues such as inequality and bias. It was only in the 1990s that the Bank showed a

cognisance of inherent biases that existed and manifested themselves not only in the form

of attitudes but also in performance appraisals, salary and grades. Issues concerning

gender equality were also attended to within the larger ongoing debate of existing

inequality and biases and the need for committing to diversity. As a result in 1992 the

World Bank took out a report, "Excellence through Equality: An Increased Role of

Women in the World Bank," which was the first blue print for the action on gender

equality within the World Bank. Apart from the concerns on the need for gender equality

and the need to work on gender issues the report also set gender targets for recruitment

and promotions at different levels and also opened the dialogue with the senior

management to pay heed to and take action towards providing the Vice President Unit

(VPU) Gender Action Plans, VPU Gender Equality Coordinators, anti-harassment

advisors and other ways for women managers to meet (Pederson 2000).

One of the strong recommendations put forth by the Advisory Group was that

high priority must be given to complete the occupational streams exercise which should

form the basis for establishing consistent, explicit, and objective criteria for promotion

229

beyond grades 18-21. In February 1989, the Bank adopted an action programme to

increase the number of women staff and their representation in management and other

senior positions. Three quantitative goals were set to achieve within three to five years of

period. The set targets were to increase women's representation by filling one quarter of

all the vacancies at grades 25 and above. The World Bank uses a grading system of 11-

31, with the President at level 31. The Stem Report focused on levels 18 and above

(formerly called "higher-level" staff a designation no longer used). Levels 22-24 were

targeted as key positions as they prepare women for senior positions (level 25 and up),

which include management. It also aimed to increase at least one quarter in grades 22 to

24 levels. It also set a target for recruitment of 25 to 35 per cent of women in the Young

Professional leveL

One of the Action Programmes initiated by World Bank in 1989 to identify high

potential women personnel is note worthy. In this programme managers were encouraged

to identify talented women and advised to supervise them and devise special strategies to

develop them and create opportunities for them to demonstrate their potential. They also

ensured that women served on selection and promotion panels to help minimize gender

bias. Even though the criteria have not been clear or consistently applied and follow-up

has fallen short of what some· may have expected, these steps have proven successful in

developing a number of women.

According to Annete Steen Pederson, Former Senior Advisor on Gender Equality,

the World Bank on its part has initiated a work-life balance approach in order to improve

the over all productivity of the organization. This initiation dealt with both men and

women since the issue affected both the sexes accordingly and as a part of the agenda,

emphasis was laid on expanding child care options for the staff, encourage

telecommuting and it also recognise that individuals could use different work styles

without compromising on the quality of work. However, it was maintained by the Work

Life Group in 1998 that though the policy was state-of-art, but was giving limited results,

since there was a lack of complete supportive work environment which put limitations on

230

staff in being able to choose their work style and communicating their choices to the

. managers (Pederson 2000).

The Changing Gender Profile in the Bank's Administration

In 1997, the Office of Senior Adviser on Gender Equality, World Bank presented

a report entitled, 'A Turning Point: New Opportunities For Gender Equality In The

World Bank Group.' According to the report, the World Bank's gender profile has been

changing. There has been a steady increase in women's representation at levels 18 and

above since the year 1992. The target of at least 27 per cent women at levels 22-24 by

1997 has been met and they are moving towards reaching the target of moving towards

achieving at least 15 per cent women at levels 25 and above by the end of 1997. The

report also shows that there have been appointments of women in higher-level positions

such as the first woman Managing Director, five women Vice Presidents in IBRD and

IFC- including the first female operational VP- and two women managers at levels 25-26

in MIGA. At the same time the report also emphasised that despite overall increases, the

representation of women in the operational Vice Presidencies (regional and central) tends

to be below the Bank Group average at levels 22-24 and especially at 25 and above -

where there are only 158 women in total. Women are under-represented in key skill

areas. Gender gaps were found to be greater in agriculture, industry and energy,

infrastructure, public sector management and in economics. It was found that these

imbalances are much more pronounced for women from Part II countries. The greatest

disparity is found at levels 25 and above. For example, 14.3 per cent women at levels 25

and above translate into 158 women- compared to 947 men-in the ranks of the Bank's

Group's decision-makers. Thus the report clearly stated that women did not have an equal

role at the core of the Bank's business, in management and decision-making positions,

and in work with clients in the field (World Bank 1997).

In gender composition of staff by skills, there is balanced representation of

women in non-operational areas. But within operational skills, the gender gaps are

greatest in sectors that have dominated the Bank's portfolio. However, women are

prominent in the social sectors that is the non-operational areas (education, population,

231

health and nutrition), which are the areas of increasing importance in the Bank's lending

activity. Also at level 25 and above, the gender gaps are more pronounced in non­

operations as well as in operations. Consequently, women do not have an equal role in

technical leadership in the Bank, which has serious implications as the networks are

being formed (World Bank 1997).

Table 5.3: Bank Group Staff by Gender and Sector Skills, Mid-FY97.

18 and ue 25 and ue

Operations M w %M %W M w %M %W

Agriculture 293 81 78% 22% 74 8 90% 10% Economics 359 127 74% 26% 146 20 88% 12% Environment 102 35 74% 26% 22 I 96% 4% Financial 372 155 71% 29% 113 22 84% 16% Industry & Energy 204 38 84% 16% 78 6 93% 7% Infrastructure 248 49 84% 16% 84 9 90% 10% Population, health And Nutrition 208 152 58% 42% 60 22 73% 27% Procurement 36 14 72% 28% 14 0 100% 0% Private Sector Development 77 31 71% 29% 26 4 87% 13% Public Sector Management Group 54 14 79% 21% 20 I 95% 5% Social Sciences 18 14 56% 44% 2 3 40% 60% General Operations 160 82 66% 34% 87 12 88% 12%

Non-operations M w %M %W M w %M %W

Accounting/Budgeting 122 167 42% 58% 24 8 75% 25% External Affairs 32 29 52% 48% 13 8 75% 25% General Administration 70 43 62% 38% 4 I 80% 20% Information Management 225 130 63% 31% 34 9 79% 21% Legal 101 46 69% 31% 34 9 79% 21% Personnel 64 94 41% 59% 20 8 71% 29% Source: At a Turning Point, Office of the Senior Advisor on Gender Equality, World Bank Group, March 1997.

From table 5.3, it is observed that in the operational sector of social sciences and

population, health and nutrition for 18 and up levels the percentage of women was

highest measuring 44 per cent and 42 per cent respectively, while in the rest sectors of

these levels (i.e. 18 and up) it ranges from 16 to 34 per cent; whereas for the 25 and up

levels in the operational sector the percentage of women was highest in the social science

sector with 60 per cent. As for the rest in these levels (i.e. 25 and up) it ranges from 0 to

27 per cent for women. Similarly, in the non-operational sector of personnel and

accounting/budgeting for the 18 and up levels the percentage of women was highest

232

measuring 59 per cent and 58 per cent respectively, while in the rest sectors of these

levels (i.e. 18 and up) it ranges from 31 per cent to 48 per cent for women. Likewise, for

the 25 and up levels in the non-operational sector remains below 30 per cent for women.

In October 1996, a wider policy, which can help balance work and family

responsibilities, was executed after a long pilot phase. This wider policy focusing on

tlexible "nine-day fortnight" arrangement became an alternative work schedule (A WS)

(World Bank 1997). There is also an induction programme, which covers the Bank's

gender profile and sexual harassment policy for the new staff at levels 18 and above.

Training for new division chiefs now integrates gender issues into cases and exercises. In

this way a greater emphasis on staff development includes more attention to gender. Also

reviews of nomination lists have resulted in gender-balanced groups for external

executive developments programmes (World Bank 1997).

The Senior Advisor on Gender Equality has been working with the Human

Resource (HR) teams, and bringing them together with the Vice President Unit (VPU)

Coordinators and vice presidents in a collaborative planning process for renewing the

Bank's commitment to gender equality. There has been a consistent effort to improve the

analysis and reporting of statistics on gender profile. More detailed analyses, particularly

of gender and nationality, have enabled a better understanding of where imbalances are

most pronounced. Since 1994, many departments have taken initiatives to increase

awareness about harassment and create a more professional environment through

discussion groups, presentations and videotapes (World Bank 1997).

In August 1996, the Senior Advisor on Gender Equality laid out a partnership

between line managers and HR units in IBRD, IFC and MIGA. The Senior Advisor

emphasised upon the integration of human resources and gender goals into all strategy

and business plans. There was also a push to identify areas where women are under­

represented through strategic workforce planning. It was ensured that the training and

career development plans were designed for both men and women. The line managers

were also asked to choose women for network management groups; task teams, acting

233

assignments that provide experience and visibility. There were supposed to hold reporting

managers accountable for results in improving gender balance and work environment and

consider their performance in promotions and evaluations (World Bank 1997).

The Human Resources Unit was asked to work with line managers on strategic

workforce planning and identification of actions to develop and promote women. The

representation of women should be ensured through external searches in advance of

vacancies, and to ensure that women are well represented on rosters of qualified

candidates. Help was to be provided for women who seek guidance on career paths

leading to management, substantive career development plans, and training or mentoring.

A significant event occurred on 26 June 1996, which marked a first in the Bank's

history - the inaugural networking event for women from Part II countries. Over 120

women shared their experiences through informal talks over lunch, roundtable

discussions and a panel of women managers from Part II countries. The discussions

pointed out the challenges faced by women from part II countries, including biases in the

Bank culture created by valuing assertiveness, aggressiveness and other "Western" male

behaviours similar to Part I countries. They also emphasised the need for additional

support from managers, and better understanding of diversity issues; strategic career

planning by women and formal and informal networking and mentoring opportunities.

The World Bank has held closer ties with international community such as UN

Expert Groups on Women in Economic Decision-Making. This has provided

opportunities to help shape recommendations by member states in international bodies,

NGOs and other employers on issues related to workplace equality (World Bank 1997).

The importance of networking opportunities for women during this period was

especially relevant during the Fourth UN World Conference on Women held in Beijing

from 4th to 5th September 1995. For the first time in the twenty-year history of UN

women's conferences, the Bank's President led the delegation to the Women's

Conference. At Beijing, at a joint session by the Bank, IMF, ADB and IDB, the need to

234

identify highly qualified women for giving them employment opportunities was

highlighted. They also discussed the adoption of a Platform for Action, with measures

that call on private employers and international institutions to build a critical mass of

women in decision-making, to eliminate discrimination and create more flexible work

environments (World Bank 1997).

The Former Senior Advisor on Gender Equality of the Bank, Anette Steen

Pedersen in her evaluation of the growth made by the Bank on meeting the gender

equality targets, has maintained that there has been a considerable reorientation in

addressing the issues of gender inequality in the 21st century. According to her, the need

of the hour has been to understand how to achieve this gender equality since the principal

question as to why it is needed has already been universally accepted. In the evaluation

of the progress it is maintained that the respective targets of 27 per cent and 15 per cent

set for increasing the women composition at two levels: Level 22-24/ GF-GG where the

core of banks work is done and Level 25+/GH+ of the managerial and senior technical

ranks, where decisions that shape banks policy are made, were met on time in Part I (the

donor countries). However, in the case of Part II (developing countries) countries the

progress was slower and the biggest gap was at Level 25/ GH (Pederson 2000).

The representation of women at the management and operational level in the

Bank presents a picture of ambivalence. It was identified that women's representation

tended to be lowest in the sectors which dominated Bank's portfolio viz. agriculture,

industry and energy, infrastructure and public sector management. As a result, women

did not have equal role in decision-making and in work with the clients and the scope for

management positions was inadequate. Therefore subsequent efforts were made to

accelerate the participation of women at managerial level (Pederson 2000).

New gender targets were adopted in 1997, which aimed at stretching the earlier

targets of 27 per cent at GG and 15 per cent at GH levels to 45 per cent and 30 per cent

respectively, to be achieved by 2003. Also, focus on appointment of senior women was

made because of which the presence of women at MD; VP and Director levels were no

235

longer rarities. IFC and MIGA markedly improved their gender balance in both levels

and IFC held the record number of women VPs. The Bank also used the policy of Young

Professional programme for gender recruitment whereby the batch recruitment approach

has enabled the YP programme to set diversity targets and meet the Stern Report target of

50 per cent women per YP group. Though the percentage of women increased steadily

across sectors from year FY97 to FY2000, yet they remained under represented in the

key skills of Bank's business (ESSD, FPSI, PREM) and they remain 25 per cent or less

even in the sectors like health and education where they are traditionally well

represented. Even the proportion of the women country directors started out high but

dipped from 31.3 per cent in FY97 to 18.6 per cent FY97 and at 24 per cent in FVOO. The

percentage of women resident representatives improved between FY95 and FY99 from

7.3 per cent to 13.9 per cent but again went down to 10.9 per cent in FYOO (Pederson

2000).

In the 1990s there was also a realisation within the organization that in order to

achieve the gender equality there was a need for not only increasing the numerical

strength of the women at all levels but there was also a need to pursue this by bringing in

a change in the existing culture of the organization. The earlier activities asserted the

inclusion of women in management by highlighting the unique differences women can

bring to the workplace by integrating multiple perspectives in their work since they are

typically good listeners, communicators, etc. There was also an emphasis on special

training for women managers to succeed in the Bank. These activities in a way not only

stereotyped women but also highlighted that they were deficient. Owing to these

limitations gender equality was not brought about in a holistic way. However Pederson

has stressed that the emphasis in the Bank on perceiving differences as assets and keeping

the staff diverse and committed, without forcing men and women to think and act alike,

has helped the Bank to act quickly towards correcting biases, in line with similar

respo11se in 1998 when the pay and grade bias study was issued (Pederson 2000).

Accountability is key source to meeting any results or targets. Recommendations

towards building accountability in the human resource department of the Bank whereby

236

the semor management and Vice President become responsible towards meeting the

targets for improving representation of women, including women in short lists,

supporting senior level recruits, etc., were made repeatedly. However, it was only in the

1998 that the Bank addressed the accountability issue as a part of HR reforms and

incorporated the provision of preparing Diversity Action Plans in the form of annual

contract between the president and the VP. In addition to this, in 2000 provision for

quarterly meeting was instituted between the MD's and VP, which helped to integrate

diversity into an ongoing plan. However accountability at all levels is still to be achieved.

The World Bank has made concerted efforts in achieving gender equality both

numerically as well as by means evolving a different culture. However, it still needs to

continue with its endeavour more vigorously in order to achieve 50: 50 targets at all

levels. Proper support and coaching is also needed for women especially from the part II

countries to succeed in their work once hired. Also the Bank requires to build not only a

partnership among men and women based on respect for their differences within the

organization but it also needs to work in partnership with other organization in order to

enable it to substantiate as well as judge its work on diversity, as pointed out by Anette

Pederson in her farewell statements (Pederson 2000).

Gender Representation in the World Bank Group: An Overview

The overall male representation for level II from 1992-1997 remain stable for

male at I 00 per cent while it was 0.0 per cent percent for the female during the same

period. During I992 and I993, for level I2, the male representation (25.0% and 26.7%)

was less than the female representation (75.0% and 73.3%). However, beginning from

1994 till i 997 the male representation completely overshadowed the female

representation by substantially a large margin. For level 13 the male representation

remained abysmally low (e.g. in 1996 it was 8.2% for male while for female it was 91.8%

for the same period) compared with the female representation throughout the period. For

level 14 the trend remained similar to the preceding level with the highest difference

observed in 1994 where it was 8.3 per cent for maie while for female it was 91.7 per cent.

For level 15 as well the male representation was lower compared with the female

237

representation. While the trend fluctuated for the male it remained stable for the female

throughout the entire period. For level 16 though the male representation was lower than

female for the entire period there was a steady growth in the male representation while

238

Table 5.4: Bank Group Staff by Level, FY92 to Mid-FY97.

I·Y92 FY93 I·Y94 I'Y95 PY96 Mid-FY97 Len· I I'd I I' I I' l%i\!\%1' Ml F I I' I%MI %1' i\r I F I I' I%MI %1' ;..,r I I' I I' j%i\Jj %F Ml 1' I I' I%MI %1' M I I' l I' j %Mj %1;

11 -1 0 -1 100.0 0.0 .l 0 3 100.0 0.0 2 0 2 100.0 0.0 2 0 2 100.0 0.0 I 0 I 100.0 0.0 1 0 1 100.0 0.0 12 -1 12 16 25.0 75.0 -1 II 15 26.7 73.3 5 1 6 83.3 16.7 5 3 8 62.5 37.5 4 2 6 66.7 33.3 3 1 4 75.0 25.0 13 26 194 220 11.8 88.2 27 159 186 14.5 85.5 26 !57 !83 14.2 85.8 14 86 100 14.0 86.0 5 56 61 8.2 91.8 5 36 41 12.2 87.8

14 43 386 429 10.0 90.0 48 483 531 9.0 91.0 45 495 540 8.3 91.7 44 451 495 8.9 91.1 40 372 412 9.7 90.3 35 337 372 9.4 90.6

15 70 746 816 8.6 91.-1 63 702 765 8.2 91.8 62 684 746 8.3 91.7 71 722 793 9.0 91.0 64 722 786 8.1 91.9 52 708 760 6.8 93.2

16 47 431 478 9.8 90.2 48 445 493 9.7 90.3 49 468 517 9.5 90.5 51 455 506 10.1 89.9 47 399 446 10.5 89.5 48 402 450 10.7 89.3 17 52 36/ 419 12.4 87.6 55 386 441 12.5 87.5 54 390 444 12.2 87.8 47 405 452 10.4 89.6 47 394 441 10.7 89.3 42 386 428 9.8 90.2

18 34 71 105 32.4 67.6 35 78 113 31.0 69.0 29 !OS 134 21.6 78.4 31 107 138 22.5 77.5 26 91 117 22.2 77.8 27 97 124 21.8 78.2

19 69 155 224 30.8 69.2 58 151 2o'9 27.8 72.2 56 138 194 28.9 71.1 43 129 172 25.0 75.0 33 120 153 21.6 78.4 30 109 139 21.6 78.-1

20 89 143 232 38.4 61.6 81 149 230 35.2 64.8 87 153 240 36.3 63.8 81 151 232 34.9 65.1 64 147 211 30.3 69.7 56 145 201 27.9 72.1

21 122 124 246 49.6 50.4 139 135 274 50.7 49.3 145 127 272 53.3 46.7 118 143 261 45.2 54.8 109 109 218 50.0 50.0 124 114 238 52.1 47.9

22 200 143 343 58.3 41.7 201 164 365 55.1 44.9 230 183 413 55.7 44.3 206 168 374 55.1 44.9 192 168 360 53.3 46.7 198 174 372 53.2 46.8

23 655 202 857 76.4 23.6 67 232 299 22.4 77.6 620 267 887 69.9 30.1 564 276 840 67.1 32.9 521 258 779 66.9 33.1 496 258 754 65.8 34.2

24 1066 209 1275 83.6 16.4 1089 220 1309 83.2 16.8 1094 246 1340 81.6 18.4 1118 278 1396 80.1 19.9 1058 287 1345 78.7 21.3 1026 291 1317 77.9 22.1

25 408 38 446 91.5 8.5 433 47 480 90.2 9.8 450 60 510 88.2 11.8 453 62 515 88.0 12.0 428 72 500 85.6 14.4 434 74 508 85.4 14.6

26 367 33 400 91.8 8.3 378 42 420 90.0 10.0 390 50 440 88.6 11.4 383 58 441 86.8 13.2 359 58 417 86.1 13.9 352 59 411 85.6 14.4

27 59 2 61 96.7 3.3 56 3 59 94.9 5.1 57 3 GO 95.0 5.0 53 5 58 91.4 8.6 51 7 58 87.9 12.1 53 10 63 84.1 15.9

28 81 6 87 93.1 6.9 85 9 94 90.4 9.6 85 9 94 90.4 9.6 88 10 98 89.8 10.2 81 10 91 89.0 11.0 81 11 92 88.0 12.0

29 20 1 21 95.2 4.8 20 1 21 95.2 4.8 19 1 20 95.0 5.0 21 1 22 95.5 4.5 26 5 31 83.9 16.1 23 4 27 85.2 14.8

30 7 0 7 100.0 0.0 6 0 6 100.0 0.0 7 0 7 100.0 0.0 5 0 5 100.0 0.0 3 0 3 100.0 0.0 3 0 3 100.0 0.0

31 1 0 1 100.0 0.0 1 0 1 100.0 0.0 1 0 1 100.0 0.0 1 0 I 100.0 0.0 1 0 1 100.0 0.0 1 0 1 100.0 0.0

Source: At a Turnmg Pmnt, Office of the SeniOr Advisor on Gender Equality, World Bank Group, March I 997.

239

the opposite was observed for the female. For level I 7 the trend remained almost the

sarne with the male representation lower than that of the female for the entire period.

However, it (male representation) was higher than the preceding level for the entire

period except in 1997. For level 18 the trend continued to remain in favour of the female

representation though the margins were narrowed down increasingly in the first few years

but widened again in the later periods. Similarly for level 19 the male representation

continued to remain lower than the female with the margins narrowing in the beginning

only to widen again in the later periods. For level 20 there was an increased in the overall

male representation percentage compared to the preceding levels but nevertheless

remained lower than the female representation. For level 21 the male female

representation showed a fluctuating trend. The male representation overtook the female in

1993 (50.7% for male and 49.3% for female). However, the representation of male was

overtaken by female in 1995 (45.2% for male and 54.8% for female), remained balanced

in 1996 at 50 per cent each only to be overtaken by the male in the following year, that is,

I 997. For level 22 the male representation was higher than female, though marginally for

the entire period. For level 23 the male representation continued to remain higher than the

female. The percentage of male representation declined gradually over the entire period

and that of the female increased but the difference remained nevertheless. In fact, the

margin of difference was more pronounce than the preceding level. Similarly, for level 24

the male representation continued to dominate the female in a very pronounced manner.

The margin of difference gradually narrowed down in the later period but remained

unbalanced. For level 25 it showed a decreasing trend for the male representation while it

increased for the female representation though it continued to be dominated by the male

representation by a huge margin. For level 26 the margin of difference between male and

female representation increased disproportionately. While the male representation

marginally decreased over the entire period the female representation managed to show

an increasing trend. The trend for level 27 remained the almost the same with the

preceding level with a decreasing trend for the male representation and an increasing

trend for the female while the margin of difference remains more or less substantial.

Similarly, for level 28 a decreasing trend for the male representation and an increasing

240

trend for the female is observed, while the margin of difference remains more or less

substantial. For level 29 while the male representation trend remained almost stable till

1995 at 95.0 per cent the female representation trend showed a fluctuating trend. While it

decreased thereafter for the former, the latter showed an increasing trend. For level 30 the

male representation was at 100 per cent while it was 0.0 per cent for the female for the

entire period. The male-female representation trend for level 31 also showed I 00 per cent

for male and 0.0 per cent for female (Refer table 5.4).

Within the World Bank, the Gender and Development Group (2005) reports that

since 1999 the Bank has made the first diversity agreement to increase the representation

of women in key professional and managerial or senior technical positions, especially

from underrepresented nationalities. The Bank claims to have made considerable

progress in achieving better gender balance in its administrative set up. Between 1995

and 2004, the percentage of women in key professional grades has risen from 31 to 42

per cent. In the key management and senior technical grades, percentage of women has

risen from 13 per cent to 25 per cent. Current women's representation targets are set at 45

per cent of key professional staff and 30 per cent of managers and senior technical staff.

The World Bank continues to declare its commitment to the Beijing Platform for

Action's twelve critical areas of concern recognized in the Beijing Conference (World

Bank 2005).

The percentage share of women for total (combined) level staff in the

headquarters has shown a gradual increase from a level of 50.7 per cent in 1995 to 53.6

per cent in 2002; however, it tlie figures have shown a slight decline to 52.6 per cent in

2003 and 51.9 per cent in 2004. Moreover, it has remained at the same level at 51.9 per

cent in 2005 as shown in table 5.5.

The trend of the percentage share of women in different levels in the headquarters

of World Bank Group showed an increased for level - GC, GE and GG to GJ+ during

1995-96; level - GC to GJ+ during I 996-97; level - GA to GD, GF to GH and GJ+

during 1997-98; level- GA and GF to GJ+ during 1998-99; level- GG to GJ+ during

241

T bl 5 5 W ld B kG a e or an rou p: - .ppomte HQA et ta >y ra d N S ffb G d e an dG d en er- FY95 FY05 -I·Y95 f•Y96 11Y97 FY98 J·Y99

c c c c c c ~ c c c " c ] "' "' c ] "' "' c -;:; ;:! ~ -;:; 1! "' c E "' E "' ~ E E "' ~ E E "' 0 ,o c § :::; .o ~ E "' ~ E 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 o'

~ 2 0 0 0 2 ~ 0 ~ f- ~ ~

[..... ~ ~ ~

,.... ~ ~ ~ Level ;..>

(;;\ 3 7 10 30.0% 2 5 7 28.6% 1 4 5 20.0% 1 3 4 25.0% 11 9 20 55.0% CH 534 58 592 90.2% 387 43 430 90.0% 280 32 312 89.7% 281 28 309 90.9% 326 61 387 84.2% cc 1177 121 1298 90.7% 1149 111 1260 91.2% 1142 100 1242 91.9% 1067 91 1158 92.1% 1209 139 1348 89.7% GD 410 48 458 89.5% 406 49 455 89.2% 407 43 450 90.4% 395 34 429 92.1% 457 63 520 87.9% C~E 389 153 542 71.8% 359 120 479 74.9% 340 103 443 76.7% 356 11 ( 472 75.4% 490 193 683 71.7% Gl 1 306 323 629 48.6% 267 285 552 48.4% 265 279 544 48.7% 302 314 616 49.0% 387 390 777 49.8% c;c 557 1684 2241 24.9% 554 1568 2122 26.1% 574 1437 2011 28. 5°/o 572 1390 1962 29.2% 649 1411 2060 31.5% c;r r 120 837 957 12.5% 134 816 950 14.1% 156 861 1017 15.3% 185 875 1060 17.5% 245 976 1221 20.1% CI 15 141 156 9.6% 17 132 149 11.4% 26 144 170 15.3% 27 157 184 14.7% 34 189 223 15.2% C)+ 1 27 28 3.6% 5 30 35 14.3% 5 29 34 14.7% 5 26 31 16.1% 9 33 42 21.4% UA 518 235 753 68.8% 526 246 772 68.1% 537 242 779 68.9% 659 278 937 70.3% 218 97 315 69.2% uc 492 763 1255 39.2% 546 787 1333 41.0% 586 797 1383 42.4% 753 954 1707 44.1% 380 513 893 42.6% Total 4522 4397 8919 50.7% 4352 4192 8544 50.9% 4319 4071 8390 51.5% 4603 4266 8869 51.9% 4415 4074 8489 52.0%

I'YOO !•YO! I'Y02 I'Y03 I•Y04

c c c c c Q

c c c c "' "' "' "' "' "' "' "' "' E c -;:; E E c ] E E c -;:;

"' E

~ E E c "E E 0 ..':! ~

0 0 "' 0 ,0 "' 0 ~ :::; 0 0 "' 0

~ ~~ ~ 2 .o ~~ :::: ~ ~~ :.::::

.~

~~ ~ ~ .o ~~ Level ""

,.... 0 ;-- ;/ ,..... ,....

(;;\ 21 22 43 48.8% 9 17 26 34.6% 8 II 19 42.1% 6 8 14 42.9% 4 9 13 30.8% CH 448 93 541 82.8% 372 85 457 81.4% 264 69 333 79.3% !80 51 231 77.9% 121 37 !58 76.6% c;c 1210 170 !380 87.7% 1094 147 1241 88.2% 1058 132 1190 88.9% 1002 133 1135 88.3% 989 136 1125 87.9% CD 521 97 618 84.3% 587 128 715 82.1% 609 134 743 82.0% 646 141 787 82.1% 662 141 803 82.4% c;E 573 276 849 67.5% 601 266 867 69.3% 590 277 867 68.1% 597 276 873 68.4% 576 258 834 69.1% (JI' 505 569 1074 47.0% 557 594 1151 48.4% 598 592 1190 50.3% 613 623 1236 49.6% 625 646 1271 49.2% GG 649 1381 2030 32.0% .627 1266 1893 33.1% 659 1231 1890 34.9% 705 1281 1986 35.5% 734 1331 2065 35.5% Gil 244 940 1184 20.6% 258 893 1151 22.4% 280 909 1189 23.5% 299 947 1246 24.0% 341 1013 1354 25.2% Gl 35 170 205 17.1% 42 179 221 19.0% 45 179 224 20.1% 48 198 246 19.5% 57 203 260 21.9% GJ+ 11 36 47 23.4% 9 33 42 21.4% 10 36 46 21.7% 12 35 47 25.5% 10 40 50 20.0% U;\ 43 13 56 76.8% N!\ N:\ NA N!\ uc 81 123 204 39.7% 1 4 5 20.0% 3 7 10 30.0% 1 5 6 16.7% 2 4 6 33.3% Total 4341 3890 8231 52.7% 4157 3612 7769 53.5% 4124 3577 7701 53.6% 4109 3698 7807 52.6% 4121 3818 7939 51.9%

Source: World Bank Group, 2005.

243

1999-2000; level - GC and GE to Gl during 2000-01; level - GA, GC and GF to GJ+

during 2001-02; level- GA, GD, GE, GG, GH and GJ+ during 2002-03; level- GD, GE,

GH and GI during 2003-04; level - GB, GC and GE to GJ+ during 2004-05. It remained

the same at 35.5 per cent for GG during 2003-04. And for the rest of the levels it has

declined during the respective periods.

The share of women staff is more than 50 per cent for level GB to GE throughout

the period of 1995-2005 and for level GA in 1999. While for the rest of the level it was

below 50 per cent during the same period. It was below 20 per cent for level GH, GI and

GJ+ during 1995-98, and for level GI during 1999-2001 and in 2003 (World Bank 2005).

The above data analysis shows that there was some improvement in women's

representation in lower and middle level grades. But in the higher-level grades women's

representation continues to remain low.

Summary Observations

This chapter has traced the development of the World Bank as an international

organization. It has taken into account approaches of the World Bank towards women

empowerment. It has discussed the Bank's commitment to the goals set by the Beijing

Platform for Action. The chapter has placed emphasis on different projects and policies,

which the Bank has adopted and carried out. This chapter has also identified the insidious

discriminatory practices of World Bank as viewed by scholars and NGOs. This chapter

has considered the administrative set up of the Bank by analysing the statistical data and

information on grade differentials between men and women. It is to be noted that due to

insufficient information on the staff employed in the Bank, the analysis on personnel is

constrained. Furthermore, qualitative information about performance and annual

performance merit ratings are strictly confidential and not available to the public. In the

light of available information one may conclude that the World Bank, though on the road

to a more equitable representation of women in low-level management, has a long way to

go for the attainment of its vision of gender equality within the organization.

244