Over the next 10 years, an unprecedented 1.2 billion young people in the Global South will become working age adults. Meanwhile, the job market is only expected to create 420 million jobs—leaving nearly 800 million without a clear path to prosperity. Though some young people will be in further education, their eventual entry into the labor market will add to this challenge.
The High-Level Advisory Council is a dedicated initiative by the World Bank Group to transform this challenge into an opportunity to drive future prosperity. It will focus on youth and female employment opportunities. The global labor force participation rate for women is just over 50%—much lower in some regions—compared to 80% for men.
The Council will bring together leading experts across government, business, civil society, and academia to offer thought leadership and actionable strategies for creating large-scale employment opportunities. The strategies developed will be examined within the World Bank Group with a view to piloting them with countries in real world applications. Those exhibiting the right level of success will be scaled over the coming years to effectively address the jobs challenge.
The Council will be led and co-chaired by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of the Republic of Singapore and former Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, and Michelle Bachelet, former President of the Republic of Chile and Head of Government for two terms (2006-2010 and 2014-2018).
The Council will meet regularly and work directly with Banga and World Bank Group senior leadership. The members of the Council will be announced in the near future. The Council aims to hold its first meeting during the 2024 World Bank Group-IMF Annual Meetings.