Short Summary: The World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are immensely powerful institutions. Their policies and programmes have huge and differing impacts on poor women and men in developing countries and there is a strong argument that they affect women more adversely than men. The Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) contains several recommendations aimed explicitly at the international financial institutions (IFIs) and is a potentially powerful lobbying tool. With the BPFA in mind, this report identifies three broad areas of the WB and the IMF's work that GAD advocates could consider addressing: the inherently pro-male gender bias in the conceptual framework that the WBank and IMF use; the need for them to integrate gender issues into their work in a coherent and consistent manner; the need to make sure that poor women's gender interests are addressed in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), and that their voices are heard in civil society consultations. This report was written to help UK-based gender and development advocates to develop effective strategies aimed at influencing the WB and the IMF. One of several suggestion for GAD advocates is to work in partnership with Southern women's organisations in countries where Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers are being developed and assisting them to influence these processes.
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