World Bank finds gender-targeted business training actually closes wage gaps — but only if you pick the right women

The World Bank studied which women benefit most from business upgrading programs and found that targeting matters enormously. Programs that pick participants by specific criteria — not just 'women entrepreneurs' — see measurable wage gains; unfocused programs see almost none.

For decades, development programs have assumed that access to training is enough. This paper shows the opposite: the same program produces wildly different results depending on who you enroll. That means development banks and NGOs now have data showing which targeting strategies actually work — and which ones waste money on women who don't need it. The implication is brutal: universal access programs are being replaced by selective ones, which means some women get help and others don't, based on criteria the program designers choose.