Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala

Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala is a women's rights activist with 18 years of experience in the field of women's rights and gender equality. She holds a MA in Gender Studies from Sussex University (UK), and a post graduate diploma in Women’s Studies from Colombo University. In 2016, she became the first Sri Lankan (male or female) to summit Mount Everest. In recognition of this achievement, from 2016-2019 she was appointed the Goodwill Ambassador for Women's Rights by the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Sri Lanka.

[VIDEO] New Frontiers for Gender Equality: Good Governance and Gendered Social Norms

Speakers in this good practice session will discuss issues related to the "unfinished gender agenda." They will touch upon social and gender norms and their impact on women and girls' lives and discuss how tax systems, budget planning and allocation, and procurement can alleviate gender inequality and advance women's economic empowerment.

Sunita Pitamber

Dr Sunita Pitamber is the Associate Director for Gender Mainstreaming and Access to Services and Infrastructure Development at the EBRD. In this role, she leads on advising clients and colleagues in promoting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment through Bank investments.
 
Sunita has extensive experience in Africa through her role at the African Development Bank where she led the Bank’s priorities on Human Capital Development, Youth Employment, as well as Education and Health. 
 

Kelera Kolivuso-Ravono

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Kelera Kolivuso-Ravono works at the Ministry of Economy under the Budget and Planning Division as a team leader for the Social Services sector. She is involved in the coordination of policies, planning and budgeting of the Education, Health, Housing, Youth and Sports, Women and Social Protection sectors. She has been with the Ministry of Economy for the last 19 years working in various sections with majority of her working career in the budget division.

Julia Newton-Howes

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Dr. Julia Newton-Howes is CEO of Investing in Women, an Australian Government initiative to catalyse women’s economic opportunity in South East Asia by improving workplace gender equality in the private sector; increasing intentional impact investments in women’s SMEs; and shifting gender norms which limit women in the world of work.
 

Caren Grown

Dr. Caren Grown is Senior Technical Advisor in the Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment Global Practice at the World Bank. From 2014-2021, she served as Global Director, Gender at the World Bank Group.  Prior to joining the Bank, Dr. Grown was Economist-In-Residence and Co-Director of the Program on Gender Analysis in Economics at American University in Washington, D.C. Over the course of her career, Dr. Grown held several senior positions, including as Senior Gender Advisor at USAID and Director of the Economics Team at the International Center for Research on Women.  Dr.

[VIDEO] Empowering Women in Informal Economy

What is required to redesign a social contract that addresses existing gender inequalities and supports a future of shared prosperity? Globally, women have longer life expectancy than men, yet they receive 30-40 percent less in pensions compared to men. This is the result of a lifetime of economic and social inequality, the gender wage gap, women’s concentration in the informal economy, and the time off from the workforce to raise children and support their families.

[VIDEO] International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women: Addressing Gender-based Violence and Sexual Violence in Development Project

The event aims to highlight and discuss key issues, challenges, and opportunities for multilateral development banks to mitigate the risks of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH) in development projects and to effectively respond to SEAH incidents when they occur. Organized in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (IDEVAW).