Independent evaluation report urges ADB to deepen gender equality initiatives

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) must strengthen its gender equality initiatives by increasing incentives, improving cross-departmental collaboration and updating its gender policy to provide a coherent framework to cover emerging issues, according to an independent evaluation report.

The evaluation analyzed the relevance of ADB’s gender strategies, their implementation and their impact on gender equality outcomes, as well as the institution’s capacity to achieve transformative change.

“ADB was one of the first multilateral development banks to institutionalize gender mainstreaming, and now ensures gender mainstreaming in most projects,” said Emmanuel Jiménez, Director General of IED.

“However, depth in project design often falls short. To deepen its impact, the ADB must integrate gender equality objectives into national and sectoral strategies, supported by up-to-date data and analysis.

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According to the report, ADB is the only multilateral development bank that applies gender performance ratings to project completion.

‘But the current approach does not fully capture gender equality outcomes. Integrating qualitative and intermediate results with quantitative metrics could better reflect transformative impacts,” said Nassreena Baddiri, co-leader of the evaluation team.

Low staff familiarity with gender equality concepts has led to inconsistent operational practices to improve outcomes. Mandatory training, clearer definitions and the consolidation of gender experts in the Gender Equality Division to support staff across the bank can promote greater gender mainstreaming.

“ADB should also update its 1998 gender policy to provide a coherent framework to guide gender equality initiatives,” said Eoghan Molloy, co-leader of the evaluation team.

ADB was one of the first multilateral development banks to institutionalize gender mainstreaming, and now ensures gender mainstreaming in most projects

«Current policy, designed for a different time, inadequately addresses issues such as gender violence, intersectionality and transformative change. “ADB’s Strategy 2030 gender equality operational plan, approved in 2019, introduced modern concepts, but existing policy creates a mismatch with these practices.”

Economic growth, government actions, technological advances and collaborative efforts have improved gender equality in Asia and the Pacific, but progress remains uneven. Deep-rooted inequalities, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and geopolitical issues, pose major challenges to achieving gender equality by 2030.