The World Bank is interested in Russian specialists

The World Bank (WB) is interested in attracting more Russian specialists for work at its central apparatus. WB vice-president Kathy Sierra said this when opening the seminar on the World Bank and international organisations in support of gender development in the Russian Federation - results and prospects.

Kathy Sierra is on a one-week working visit to Russia. She intends to meet with representatives of the government, Russian colleges and universities and various public organisations in order to attract Russian specialists for work at the World Bank. Kathy Sierra has already met with some officials from the economic development and trade ministry and the finance ministry of the Russian Federation.

In Sierra's words, though about 10,000 people work at the World Bank today, there are only 100 Russians at the central apparatus, of which 39 employees are middle and upper managers. In Kathy Sierra's opinion, this is a small figure for such a big country as Russia.

Representatives of some 140 nationalities and ethnic groups work at the World Bank today. There are no personnel quotas, which means that a representative of any nationality can take part in the contest for a position at the World Bank, Sierra noted.

Speaking about Russia and plans to attract Russian specialists to the World Bank, we should pay special attention to Russian women, Sierra noted.

She said that she was impressed by the number of women holding leading posts (she met with some of them), their competence and prestige. In Kathy Sierra's words, women in Russia are strong, and if the World Bank increases their number in leading posts, this will be useful not only to Russia, but to the whole world.

At a meeting with members of the government in early June, James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank, had already raised the issue of increasing the number of Russian specialists at the World Bank and also of Russians' more active participation in contests for positions at the World Bank.