IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings spotlight women’s finance initiative as WE Finance Code expands globally

A busy week at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington featured renewed attention on efforts to expand women-focused financial inclusion through the WE Finance Code, a global initiative aimed at improving access to finance for women.

Aishah N. Ahmad, CFA, OFR, who moderated a high-level roundtable convened by the We-Fi Secretariat under Japan’s chairship of the We-Fi Governing Committee, said the initiative has evolved significantly from its early design phase into what she described as a “systemic” global effort.

The discussion brought together central bank governors, multilateral development institutions, development finance leaders, donors, and implementation partners. Participants included senior representatives from the World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and IDB Invest.

Country representatives from Montenegro, Kenya, and Rwanda presented updates on implementation, each outlining different approaches to integrating the WE Finance Code into national financial systems and reform agendas.

According to discussions highlighted during the session, the initiative has expanded from an initial group of roughly 8 to 10 countries to 33 participating economies, with plans to scale up to as many as 90.

Speakers emphasized that the program is increasingly country-led and data-driven, relying on coalitions of institutions rather than a single coordinating body. They also noted that participating countries are embedding the framework in diverse ways—ranging from national financial inclusion strategies to broader economic reform programs and high-level government initiatives.

A key focus of the roundtable was the use of sex-disaggregated financial data. While participants agreed that data collection has improved, attention is now shifting toward how that data is used by regulators and financial institutions to influence lending practices, financial products, pricing structures, and capital allocation.

The session was convened by the We-Fi Secretariat, led by Wendy Teleki, as part of broader efforts to strengthen global financial inclusion for women.

Organizers described the WE Finance Code as one of the more structured international efforts aimed at reshaping financial systems to better address gender gaps in access to finance.