Ahead of International Women’s Day, the World Bank published new data showing that the global gender gap is far higher than previously thought, with women enjoying only around 2/3 the legal protections afforded to men. The “Women, Business and the Law” Report, which for the first time investigates the impact of childcare and safety policies on women’s participation in the labor market, found that women enjoyed just 64% of the legal protections afforded to men when these two factors were taken into account. The report says that Togo and Sierra Leone have made major positive shifts towards enabling women’s access to the labor market, but implementation of legal frameworks is critical. Download the full report here (https://shorturl.at/wBKQS) and see the analysis section for more comment, including WB VP for Gender Hana Brixi’s trailing of the forthcoming WB gender Strategy.

The Learning Lab Series is excited to announce that a new episode of the PROSPECTS podcast series - Unlocking digital job PROSPECTS for all is now available. In just 15 minutes, explore private sector emerging practices for enhancing market connections, working conditions, upskilling, and social integration for refugees and host community members. Check the 3rd episode (https://shorturl.at/brxMW) on "Inclusion is good for business: Private sector practices to include refugees and host communities in the digital economy" - Guest speaker: Giselle Gonzales, Founder of EqualReach.

Ethiopia launches inclusive ID system for refugees, boosts access to national services The Government of Ethiopia, through its Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) in partnership with National ID Program (NIDP) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency launched an initiative to include refugees and asylum seekers into the Ethiopian Digital ID system. Aiming to facilitate refugees’ access to basic services, this initiative – currently in its pilot stage – is being rolled out in Addis Ababa with the issuance of digital refugee ID cards that feature a unique identification number called “Fayda”. This new refugee ID (with Fayda number) will allow refugees to access key services like obtaining a SIM card, healthcare or school enrolment and will also help them improve their access to financial services, providing refugees with the opportunity to open bank accounts and engage in financial transactions. Refugee entrepreneurs can also formally register their businesses, contributing to the local economy.

Shabelle Bank tests with ILO support innovative product for financial inclusion of hosts and forcibly displaced in Ethiopia: The ILO and Shabelle Bank in Ethiopia have started a new partnership to enhance financial inclusion for hosts and refugees in Ethiopia's Somali region. This collaboration, as part of the PROSPECTS project, will see the launch of tailored financial products, addressing critical service gaps impacting over 916,000 refugees in Ethiopia.

UNHCR - Launch of the UNHCR Assessment and Monitoring Resource Centre: The UNHCR Assessment and Monitoring Resource Centre is a repository of tools and resources to support evidence-based programming and policy-making for UNHCR and our partners. The Resource Centre is the result of work across headquarters divisions and entities to incorporate tools being used by colleagues from many different functions in UNHCR. As the organization continues to work on aligning different assessment and monitoring approaches to strengthen the availability and use of data for better programming, the Resource Centre gathers various resources in a single, accessible location. Read more here: https://www.unhcr.org/handbooks/assessment/

Invitation to Contribute to Research! Are you interested in taking part in a Master’s research under the University of Cambridge? Can you contribute to the research question of "How the private sector can facilitate the scaling of refugee-owned businesses in refugee camps”? If yes, we'd love to hear from you! We're conducting interviews with refugee entrepreneurs, NGOs, RLOs involved in livelihood programs, and private sector representatives to develop a comprehensive framework. Reach out to bg458@cam.ac.uk to share your valuable insights!

At the beginning of 2023, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, set out to better understand what does and does not work for refugees at each phase of their engagement with the digital economy — from preparatory training to working — and what solutions they think humanitarian and development actors should be pushing forward to make working online a safer, more inclusive route toward self-reliance. In partnership with behavior change lab 17 Triggers, UNHCR conducted a series of community-based workshops across seven countries over five months. For each country, one urban and one camp-based location were selected. The resulting research series — Improving Digital Livelihood Opportunities for Refugees: Using community-based workshops to co-create solutions — is a foundational element of the PROSPECTS Partnership project on the Promotion, Inclusion and Protection of Refugees in the Gig Economy. The project is jointly implemented with the International Labour Organization and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands through its PROSPECTS Opportunity Fund. Read the report here: https://rb.gy/te2jsb and the blog here: https://rb.gy/p2uvps

Launch of the new edition of UNHCR Emergency Handbook: A UNHCR guide to agile, effective and community based humanitarian emergency responses - since its first edition in 1982, UNHCR’s Emergency Handbook has continued to offer guidance and practical tools to UNHCR’s emergency responders. https://emergency.unhcr.org/

CGIAR pledge at Global Refugee Forum 2023: Promote climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods in fragile and conflict‐affected settings: CGIAR has pledged to enhance the climate resilience of and humanitarian responses to refugees, host communities, and other displaced peoples in fragile and conflict-affected settings. This commitment is channeled through the CGIAR Research Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration (FCM). Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/24mrmpta

• Zambia's Vice President led a delegation from the government to attend the Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in Geneva, Switzerland. Upon departure in Lusaka, the Vice President said that Zambia will continue to shelter people seeking refuge from other countries due to conflicts, as mandated by the UN. Therefore, programmes such as the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva are important for the country to participate in. "As a country, we have hosted refugees for many years, and we will continue to provide shelter to those seeking protection from conflicts in our region," she said. The UNHCR Representative also attended the GRF in Geneva. While in Geneva, the Vice President will also take part in the celebration of the UN's 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The Vice President's attendance at a UNHCR function is a significant political representation and commitment by the Government of Zambia to the Global Compact on Refugees.