Improving Female Labour Force Participation through Outcomes-Based Financing

In 2014, recognising the criticality of bringing women into the workforce, G20 leaders committed to reducing the gender gap in labour force participation by 25 percent in member countries by 2025. While significant progress has been made since, accelerated progress is needed in the next two years. Outcomes-based financing (OBF), including impact bonds, has recently emerged as a promising solution to address this issue. This Policy Brief draws on evidence and learnings from relevant OBF projects to recommend that the G20: (i) encourage the adoption of OBF principles (clearly defined outcomes, rigorous and independent verification, payments linked to outcomes, risk transfer when relevant, robust performance management, outcome-based budgeting, and strong governance and accountability) in female labour force participation schemes/programmes; (ii) create a cross-sector task force to leverage the strengths of various engagement groups; and (iii) encourage member states to create an ecosystem conducive to OBF.