Staff concerns over World Bank President Jim Yong Kim’s controversial reform agenda boiled over during the bank’s annual meetings in Washington last week.
Reports from inside a hastily called town hall meeting with Kim last Tuesday suggested that employees didn’t hold back and confronted the president on perceived management challenges and a lack of transparency about the reforms and how planned budget cuts may affect staffing.
People are “being bold because they’re directly threatened,” one World Bank employee who wished to remain anonymous told Devex Friday, adding that the immediacy of many stakeholders pouring in for the multilateral institution’s annual meetings was the “traction” staff needed to take action. Kim came down “for the first time ever” without a jacket and his sleeves rolled up, the staffer suggested.
About the author
Kelli Rogers@kellierin
Kelli Rogers has worked as an Associate Editor and Southeast Asia Correspondent for Devex, with a particular focus on gender. Prior to that, she reported on social and environmental issues from Nairobi, Kenya. Kelli holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, and has reported from more than 20 countries.
