Washington, DC:
Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), made the following statement today:
“I am most pleased and proud to announce that the Executive Board today
approved the IMF’s first Gender Strategy aimed at integrating gender into the Fund’s core activities — surveillance,
capacity development, and lending—
in accordance with its mandate. This means more
systematically assessing the macroeconomic consequences of gender gaps
where they are macro-critical, evaluating the gender-differentiated impact
of shocks and policies, and providing granular and tailored macroeconomic
and financial policy advice and capacity development support.
“This gender strategy could not have been more
timely. With the strategy, the Fund is adapting to the evolving needs,
challenges, and priorities before our member countries It builds on work
that IMF staff have conducted over the years.
“Crises, including the pandemic and wars, are taking a heavy toll on
women’s lives and livelihoods, compounding the effect of climate change and
increased global fragility. These developments are exacerbating existing
gender gaps, and our member countries are increasingly refining their
policies to implement gender-responsive measures.
“Mainstreaming gender at the IMF starts with recognizing that reducing
gender disparities goes hand-in-hand with higher economic growth,
greater economic stability and resilience, and lower income inequality.
Well-designed macroeconomic, structural, and financial policies can
support efficient and inclusive outcomes and equitably benefit women,
girls, and society in general.
“The Gender Strategy is based on four pillars:
- Empowering IMF staff with access to relevant gender-disaggregated data
and modeling tools to conduct policy analysis.
- Setting up a robust framework to ensure that macro-critical aspects of
gender are integrated in IMF country work based on an evenhanded approach
across our membership and creating a supportive internal organizational
structure.
- Strengthening collaboration with external partners to benefit from
knowledge sharing and peer learning, leveraging complementarities, and
maximizing the impact on the ground.
- Efficiently utilizing resources allocated to gender by realizing
economies of scale and avoiding duplication of effort.
“The implementation of the new strategy will start immediately but will be
gradual and measured. Successful implementation of this strategy will
assist our member countries in achieving more inclusive and equitable
economic growth and resilience. When women do well, countries do well.”
For more information on the IMF's work on Gender:
www.imf.org/gender