Recognizing that aspiring businesswomen are often prevented from realizing their economic potential, the IFC is committed to creating opportunities for women in business. The gender program aims to mainstream gender issues into IFC's work, while helping to better leverage the untapped potential of women as well as men in emerging markets.

IFC provides financial products and advisory services to:

• increase access to finance for women entrepreneurs
• reduce gender-based barriers in the business environment
• improve the sustainability of IFC investment projects.

Recent Highlights

GRI and IFC Launch "Embedding Gender in Sustainability Reporting - A Practitioner's Guide"

On Tuesday, October 27, 2009, IFC and GRI will launch their Gender and Sustainability Reporting Publication at the 2009 CSR Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The workshop is for CSR Asia participants and practitioners who want to establish themselves as leaders in managing gender issues. It will highlight some of the existing and emerging business drivers for improving practices and reporting on material gender issues. In addition, legal and ethical imperatives for reporting on gender issues will be discussed. Practical steps will be offered on how to embed gender in sustainability reporting.

• Read more on the Gender and Sustainability Website
  Download full report [PDF] | Download Executive Summary [PDF]
  View Press Release
• For additional information, contact Carmen Niethammer.