By Andrea Arzaba Díaz and Dennis Blumenfeld  

All around the world, women are taking leadership roles in both government services and private business ventures more and more often. According to a global survey conducted by the human resources consulting firm DDI, companies that perform best financially have the greatest numbers of women in leadership roles. However, female leaders still often experience challenges related to the traditional gender roles that have been imposed on them. It is important for all sectors to pay attention to how such challenges affect women’s ability to serve as leaders, and therefore affect the overall effectiveness of the operation.

Thursday marks the start of the Annual Meeting of the IDB Board of Governors in Panama. One issue certain to be discussed is the region’s continued infrastructure gap, which hinders productivity and development in many countries due to lack of basic sanitation, safe and efficient modes of transportation, and reliable access to electricity. At the Annual Meeting, there will be a panel organized by the MIF during which top experts will discuss how Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) can be utilized as an effective contractual approach for infrastructure development and service provision. The panel, New Directions in PPPs: New Actors, New Sectors, and New Sources of Funding, will take place on Friday March 15^th from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Those watching will learn how PPPs can leverage the innovation, expertise and financial capacity of the private sector for financing, designing, building, operating and maintaining infrastructure projects through long-term, output-based contracts. The panel will also explore when and when not to use PPPs and look at new actors, new sectors, and new sources of funding for these projects.