Overview
The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) comprises a group of countries with very different economic profiles, ranging from fast growing economies to a significant number of least developed countries. Even those regions or countries that in the past years had experienced sustainable economic growth, are met with challenges regarding increasing poverty and inequality. Recent data highlights that women around the world face critical challenges: from the ability to move freely, to choose where to work, to become entrepreneurs. In return, these barriers affect women’s possibility to access the (formal) labour market. For instance, while 80% of men globally work, only one in two women do. When women work, there is a higher tendency for them to be restricted to lower paying jobs or the informal sector (WBL, ICR4WEE Conference, 2024). In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, women-owned/led businesses make generally less profits than those owned by men, partly because they tend to open their businesses in traditionally female-dominated sectors.
Furthermore, women often have less access to formal and informal networks and lobbies that can influence public decision-making. This means their voices are often discarded when it comes to deciding, designing, implementing investment climate reforms that promote women’s economic empowerment. Within this context, it is pivotal to obtain evidence on the impact of gender-responsive and gender-transformative business environment reforms on women and on the economy as a whole. The ICR Facility will be conducting three studies, each evaluating the impact of a specific reform in a selected country; setting up Peer to Peer exchanges to allow cross-country learning as well as setting up a webinar for a wider audience.
Objectives
- Closing a data and information gap in the ACP region.
- Obtaining evidence of the outcomes of a selected reform and its impact on women as well as the economy and society as a whole.
- Enhance stakeholders’ engagement and share lesson learnt.
Activities
- Quantitative and qualitative research on three selected countries for evidence studies
- 3 peer-to-peer workshops to allow for active engagement
- Carry out a webinar for a wider audience
Selected Countries
This page will be updated accordingly with news and preliminary findings from the research carried out