Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many jobs for women in developing countries (1) have been, and (2) they estimate will be, created by the Commonwealth Development Corporation; whether they intend to set any targets in this regard; and if not, why not.

CDC targets jobs through the use of a development impact grid, to identify key employment sectors and countries; and through an assessment of the development case for each individual investment. This methodology does not depend solely on a job target but instead seeks to find investments which optimise the balance between four factors - the employment potential, the low income of the country, the difficulty of doing business, and the lack of available capital. This is to ensure that our investments are directed not only towards employment, but also to the countries most in need of assistance.

CDC’s Investment Policy does however direct CDC to focus on those sectors that create the most jobs in the poorest developing countries and it does measure and publish in its annual report the number of jobs created, for women and for men, in Africa and South Asia each year.

CDC investee companies employed 135,000 women in 2015. CDC investments help overcome other barriers faced by women in business. CDC investments in the power sector support the growth of firms, big and small, that create employment opportunities for women. CDC investments in microfinance institutions provide millions of women in Africa and South Asia with access to affordable financial services. Of the estimated 1.01 million direct and indirect jobs created by CDC investments in 2015, CDC estimates that 320,000 were jobs for women.

CDC is committed to playing its role in achieving Global Goal 5 to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls. CDC will continue to progress gender objectives on its forthcoming strategy.