Breaking Obstacles: The Role of Inclusion Programs in Advancing Women’s Agency

The report argues that targeted economic inclusion programs, combining cash, skills, coaching, and social support can significantly advance women’s agency, incomes, and resilience when designed with a strong gender lens. It shows that tackling structural barriers such as restrictive norms, lack of childcare, limited finance, and weak social networks is essential for achieving lasting women’s economic empowerment.

A report developed by the World Bank’s Partnership for Economic Inclusion (PEI) with contributions from BRAC International, the Gates Foundation, the International Labour Organization, OECD, CGAP, and several academic research labs, opens with a stark portrait of gendered poverty. One in ten women still lives in extreme poverty, and fewer than half participate in the labor force, compared with nearly three-quarters of men. Women are disproportionately confined to informal work, earning on average 20 percent less and juggling heavy unpaid care burdens. These disparities weigh heavily on global economies: the report notes that equalizing labor participation and earnings could boost long-term GDP per capita by as much as 20 percent.

Why Economic Inclusion Programs Matter, but Need a Gender Lens

Economic inclusion programs, integrated packages combining cash transfers, business capital, coaching, skills training, and market linkages, have scaled rapidly to reach 70 million people across 88 countries, about 90 percent of them women. Yet the report warns that targeting women without addressing their structural barriers is insufficient. Only one-third of programs identify women’s economic empowerment as a core objective, and even fewer provide childcare, flexible training, or interventions that tackle restrictive norms. Evidence from Niger, Zambia, Afghanistan, and India demonstrates that multifaceted support can dramatically increase income, business performance, and long-term resilience, but these gains depend on programs deliberately addressing women’s constraints rather than assuming participation alone will shift outcomes.

Building Agency: From Self-Belief to Decision-Making Power

A central theme of the report is the importance of agency, women’s ability to set goals and act on them. For many poor women, years of exclusion limit self-esteem and aspiration. Programs that combine coaching with psychosocial and life-skills training have shown striking results. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, training in negotiation and rights increased women’s involvement in household decisions. In Niger, modules on goal setting and leadership, paired with community video discussions, improved both economic outcomes and psychological well-being. Zambia’s Supporting Women’s Livelihoods program recorded noticeable increases in happiness, confidence, and mental health. These examples illustrate that strengthening agency is not a secondary benefit but a foundation for sustained economic participation.

Access to Resources: Finance, Skills, and Social Networks

The report underscores the need to improve women’s control over financial and physical resources, noting a global US$1.9 trillion credit gap for women-owned MSMEs. Directing cash transfers into women’s mobile or bank accounts, tested in Uganda and Tanzania, increases their earnings, bargaining power, and ability to manage household decisions. Identification support, as seen in Afghanistan and Pakistan, helps women open accounts, own mobile phones, and access public services. Human capital also plays a transformative role. Programs in Kenya, Togo, Benin, and the Philippines show that tailored technical training, flexible schedules, low-literacy materials, and women-only safe spaces significantly improve business outcomes. BRAC’s work with adolescent girls demonstrates that mentorship and life-skills education reduce early marriage, pregnancy, and vulnerability to sexual violence. Social capital, too, emerges as critical. Women’s groups, self-help groups in India, savings groups in Uganda, or Village Solidarity Committees in Bangladesh, build networks that provide emotional support, crisis response, market connections, and, importantly, platforms for collective bargaining and community influence.

Challenging Norms and Reshaping the Environment

Even with strong agency and resources, women’s economic participation is constrained by norms, laws, and institutional structures. The report highlights how unpaid care work excludes 708 million women from the labor force. Programs in Malawi, Cameroon, and Mauritania show that involving men through couple training, radio dramas, and community dialogues can shift household roles and reduce backlash against women’s empowerment. Access to childcare is another catalytic factor. Mobile crèches in Burkina Faso and community-run childcare enterprises in Benin enable women to attend training, engage in apprenticeships, or run businesses without sacrificing care responsibilities. At a broader level, institutional reforms, such as addressing discriminatory lending rules, ensuring safe transport, or expanding care services, are essential for sustaining program-level gains.