Partnering For Gender Equality : Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality

Abstract

Operational approaches by governments and development agencies have not yet been successful in closing gaps between men and women in key areas of economic empowerment, and in preventing and responding to gender-based violence. In 2012 a group of like-minded partners came together with the World Bank Group to establish the Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality (UFGE), a multi-donor trust fund aimed at developing innovative, evidence-based solutions to learn what works and what does not work to close gaps. As of the end of fiscal year 2019 (FY19), the UFGE had supported 183 grant activities in ninety-two countries. The UFGE adds value in areas that are not financed as part of the WBG’s operational budget for country engagement, operating on a public good principle to help countries invest limited resources in policies and interventions that are most effective in closing gender gaps.