The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) together with IDB Invest and Gender Parity Initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), published a toolkit document with the objective of providing private sector companies with the introductory tools to develop and implement a female leadership program for its employees and to internally promote their professional development.

This toolkit was prepared based on the IDB Invest experience of, and on a careful review of the best existing practices in the LAC region. The document offers a step-by-step guide to developing, organizing, and implementing a women’s leadership program within an organization. It also offers practical advice and suggestions for other actions to support gender equality in the workplace.

The “Preparatory Phase” section includes the basic steps the company should take to create an organizational context that nurtures women’s career growth and professional development. The “Design Phase” includes all the steps necessary to create a leadership program, from defining the objective to selecting the participants. The “Implementation Phase” includes specific actions companies can take to support women’s career development. Finally, the “Post-Program Phase” includes information on how to evaluate the leadership program, actions that can be taken to further support the career progression of program graduates, and recommendations for additional steps the company can take to attract, hire, and retain top-tier female talent.