How to create jobs for the world's 1.2 billion new workers Ajay Banga February 18, 2026 This page in: English Français Español العربية Русский 中文 +++++ © 2026 The World Bank Group,

How to create jobs for the world's 1.2 billion new workers Ajay Banga February 18, 2026 This page in: English Français Español العربية Русский 中文 https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/voices/how-to-create-jobs-for-the-world-s-1-2-billion-new-workers The world moves on different wavelengths. Some are high-frequency shocks—wars, emerging technologies, market panics—that spike quickly and dominate our attention. Others are low-frequency forces that move slowly but relentlessly: demographics, globalization, water and food scarcity. © 2026 The World Bank Group, What will It take to level the playing field for women entrepreneurs? Daniela BehrYue Sophie Xi February 17, 2026 This page in: English Español 中文 https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/developmenttalk/what-will-it-take-to-level-the-playing-field-for-women-entrepren Women own about one-third of businesses worldwide, yet, in several economies and sectors, women-led firms are virtually absent (Figure 1). The result is trillions in economic potential left untapped. A new paper, Closing the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship, reveals that the barriers women entrepreneurs face are deeply interconnected and cannot be solved with isolated fixes, demanding coordinated, system-wide solutions. © 2026 The World Bank Group, Who is Raising Our Children? Screens, Baby Shark, and the Impact on Early Childhood Jaime SaavedraEzequiel MolinaCristóbal Cobo February 11, 2026 This page in: English Español العربية https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/latinamerica/impact-screen-time-in-early-childhood Sixteen billion. That’s how many times the popular children’s song Baby Shark has been viewed on YouTube. That’s more than twice the world’s population—and here’s what’s truly striking: 5 of the 10 most-viewed videos in YouTube’s history are content for young children. Not Bad Bunny. Not Taylor Swift. But baby sharks and buses with spinning wheels. These numbers reveal something important: early childhood is being reshaped by screens, long before Instagram or TikTok enter the picture. © 2026 The World Bank Group, How to boost learning in low-income countries: Raising revenues or cutting costs? Diego Angel-UrdinolaFatine GuediraNoah Yarrow January 28, 2026 This page in: English Français Español https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/education/how-to-boost-learning-in-low-income-countries Imagine being asked to build a school on a budget that barely buys a stack of bricks, but no cement, windows or roofing materials. That is what education funding looks like in many low-income countries. With an average annual spending of just $55 per child (PPP$172), spending on education in LICs is in stark contrast even to lower-middle income countries, which allocate $309 (PPP$ 871) per child on average. © 2026 The World Bank Group, What’s changing in gender-responsive public financial management Mona El-ChamiMaja BosnicSrinivas Gurazada March 08, 2026 This page in: English If you’ve ever wondered how public financial management (PFM) systems integrate gender considerations so that public funds benefit everyone more equally, we’re going to share with you what we’ve learned from our latest data. Since 2020, 32 national and subnational governments have applied the Public Expenditure & Financial Accountability (PEFA) Gender Framework, creating the first global dataset on how PFM systems address gender issues. The results show progress and increased commitment but also highlight remaining gaps in achieving gender‑equality outcomes. https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/governance/what-s-changing-in-gender-responsive-public-financial-management © 2026 The World Bank Group,