Vital Voices Joins Partners to Launch the Doing Business Gender Law Library

Thursday, October 9, 2008 Vital Voices Global Partnership joined the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank to launch the Doing Business Gender Law Library at an event in Washington DC.

The Doing Business Gender Law Library is joint initiative of the of the World Bank Group’s Doing Business Project and the Gender Action Plan, supported by Vital Voices through the ExxonMobil Foundation. It is a dynamic online database of national legal provisions impacting women's economic status in 181 countries across the globe. The library is designed to help governments, civil society, and academics investigate which reforms of business regulations will have the highest impact on opportunities for women.

The launch of this new resource tool was met with great success as international leaders convened to learn about the library and discuss the importance of pursuing innovative strategies for promoting women's economic progress. Featured speakers present at the launch included: H.E. Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany; Michael Klein, Vice President for Financial and Private Sector Development, World Bank-IFC & Chief Economist, IFC; Alyse Nelson Bloom, President & Chief Operating Officer, Vital Voices.

Access the Gender Law Library at www.doingbusiness.org/genderlawlibrary