At the World Bank, turning finance ministers into gay rights advocates
The World Bank may be prohibited from interfering in countries’ internal politics, but that doesn’t mean it can’t build the economic case for stemming discrimination against sexual minorities.
The research arm of the global financial institution is taking up a new project exploring a causal connection between discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals, and constraints to economic growth. The evidence for that connection is already building, but it remains to be seen whether more economic research will be enough to influence discrimination policies within client countries and drive change throughout the financial institution’s lending portfolio.
Despite the World Bank’s uneasy relationship with LGBTI rights — and the weight of the institution’s 1944 Articles of Agreement preventing it from meddling in political affairs — the institution is ramping up efforts to gather robust and concrete data to show discriminating against LGBTI individuals exacts an economic toll.
About the author
Jeff Tyson@jtyson21
Jeff is a former global development reporter for Devex. Based in Washington, D.C., he covers multilateral affairs, U.S. aid, and international development trends. He has worked with human rights organizations in both Senegal and the U.S., and prior to joining Devex worked as a production assistant at National Public Radio. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in international relations and French from the University of Rochester.
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