An article featured on the IDB Invest blog describes the Bank’s experience in using performance-based incentives (known as PBIs) as a tool to promote gender equality in the private sector. According to the authors, these incentives can be even more effective if they are combined with technical advice for the development of inclusive human resources policies or adapting financial products to the needs of women.

IDB Invest has been a pioneer in the used PBIs with a gender focus since 2015 through blended-finance resources from the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in the Americas (C2F), the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF).

A recent study supported by We-Fi evaluates IDB Invest’s experience implementing PBIs in 7 projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. It concludes that these incentives could achieve gender results and accelerate the timelines for achieving goals. In addition, authors found that incentives could help increase the representation of women in sectors such as renewable energy and construction. Moreover, the study reflects how PBIs could change internal perspectives on gender roles within organizations in some companies and produce indirect effects in the industries they operate.