About the event
Advancing women’s economic participation is a key driver of growth and job creation. Estimates suggest that removing barriers to women’s economic participation could raise global output by 15–20 percent. Yet progress remains uneven, with persistent gaps in legislation, policy implementation, institutional support, and legal enforcement.
Women, Business and the Law 2026 is a flagship World Bank Group report examining the legal and policy factors shaping women’s access to economic opportunities. Drawing on data from 190 economies, the report benchmarks progress across 10 dimensions of women’s economic life, including pay, assets, entrepreneurship, childcare, and workplace protections.
The event explores where gaps remain, which reforms have proven effective, and how legal and policy choices can support more inclusive and competitive economies, with insights from policymakers, researchers, business leaders, and development practitioners on the implications for growth and jobs.
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Agenda
20 min | Welcome and Opening
– Sumi Somaskanda, Chief Anchor, BBC News
– Indermit Gill, Chief Economist and Senior VP of Development Economics, WBG
– Paschal Donohoe, Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer, WBG
10 min | Key Messages of Women, Business and the Law 2026
– Tea Trumbic, Manager, Women, Business and the Law, WBG
10 min | Voice of an Entrepreneur
– Lina Maria Useche Kempf, Co-founder, Aliança Empreendedora
30 min | Panel Discussion — Legal reforms and actions needed to accelerate inclusive growth
– Hon. Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the President, Ghana
– Gargee Ghosh, President of Global Policy and Advocacy, Gates Foundation
– Norman Loayza, Director, Policy Indicators Group, WBG
– H.E. Wafa Bani Mustafa, Minister of Social Development, Jordan
– Moderated by: Sumi Somaskanda
3 min | Closing Remarks
Source: https://live.worldbank.org/en/event/2026/women-business-law?cid=ECR_FB_worldbank_EN_EXT#about
