The Gender Equality (GE) Division at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was established in November 2020, with the focus on breaking down barriers facing women and girls, including the barriers to income generation, agency and livelihoods. Within the GE division, the Digital Connectivity (DC) and Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) teams collaborate on a shared digital learning agenda to understand how digital tools can contribute to improving women’s lives and livelihoods. The learning agenda outlines how factors such as affordability, access, literacy, relevance, safety and security, and social norms influence meaningful digital connectivity.
We will structure this talk in the following way. First, we outline the GE-DC & WEE strategy and learning agenda, highlighting the ways we are learning and refining our strategy through partnerships and research. Second, we will delve into two key topics: (1) the role of digital tools in supporting flexible work and contribution to income generation and social norms change, and (2) best practices for digital skilling initiatives targeting low-income women, including the use of Generative AI. For both, we will draw inferences from initial explorations with our partners including Karya, M-KOPA and Turn.IO. The session will conclude with a brief discussion on measurement frameworks for tracking the impact of digital tools on gender equality.
Diva Dhar leads the foundation’s investments in strengthening data systems and deepening research and evidence for women’s economic empowerment programs and policymaking. She joined the Gender Equality team in 2019 and played a key role in the design and launch of the Women’s Economic Empowerment program and strategy.
Diva joined the foundation in 2016 in the India office, where she led grantmaking to advance research and evaluation on nutrition, health systems, digital, youth, and gender equality efforts. Earlier, she worked for over a decade in public policy research and design, with a focus on gender, youth, and development. She started her career working for the Indian government’s Planning Commission and has worked in 10 countries for global nonprofit organizations including the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), Innovations for Poverty Action, and the World Bank.
Diva has a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Oxford and is a visiting fellow at the Future of Development program at the Oxford Martin School. She has graduate and undergraduate degrees in economics from Yale University and Mount Holyoke College, respectively.
Leesa Shrader leads implementation of the foundation’s Women’s Economic Empowerment programs across seven countries: Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Senegal.
Before joining the foundation, Leesa worked at the intersection of digital innovation, financial inclusion, agriculture, market systems development, and women’s livelihoods in 55 countries. She launched and managed two commercial banks that serve low-income markets, as well as a number of microfinance institutions, and she worked for institutions including the World Bank, CGAP, GIZ, Mercy Corps, and Women’s World Banking.
Leesa has a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in international studies and Russian from Reed College.
