Do the results match the rhetoric? An examination of World Bank gender projects.

This paper seeks to determine the degree to which a gender lens has been incorporated into World Bank projects and the success of individual projects according to gender equality-related indicators. We first examine the World Bank’s internal scoring of projects based on whether they encompass gender analysis action and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) components as well as project development objective indicators and outcomes according to these indicators. We conclude that when indicators are defined targets are specified and outcomes are published gender equality-related results appear largely positive. However many projects (even those possessing a gender “theme” and perfect scores for the inclusion of gender analysis action and M&E components) lack gender-related indicators and when such indicators are present they often lack specified target goals. The paper concludes with a recommendation for increased transparency in gender-related project data (including data on the funding of gender equality-related components of projects) from donor institutions and a call for an increased number of gender-related indicators and targets in donor projects.