Press Release No. 22263

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva Announces the IMF’s New Gender Strategy

July 22, 2022

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.”