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Published on January 11, 2023

Workshop on Gender and Sustainability for Financial Institutions


What is the point of having a prosperous and clean economy if the benefits from it are not equally distributed?

In the acronyms ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), the letter S plays a fundamental role to ensure that the benefits from the transition to a green economy are fair and inclusive. Securing gender equality at every sector and level are foundational purposes behind the SDG5 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as transversal priorities for every project and initiative implemented by the Organization of the United Nations.

Workshop

The proportion of women working in leadership positions in financial services institutions is low. On average, less than 6% of CEO-level posts are held by women; in contrast, women represent 67% of the staff-level positions. Moreover, women rarely occupy executive and finance positions in banks and other institutions of financial services; advisory boards are commonly constituted by a male-majority.

Under this context, Mexico’s Joint Programme on Sustainable Financing promotes the strengthening of financial institutions' capacities to integrate the gender dimension of sustainable development through the establishment and elaboration of metrics and strategies to end gender-gaps.

In collaboration, with the Research Programme of Climate Change from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and the support of the Association of Mexican Banks, The Mexican Association of Retirement Fund Association, and the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions, the Joint Programme organized a workshop on gender and sustainability for financial institutions.

Findings, recommendations, and good practices carried out within financial institutions were shared in order to strengthen resilience capacities in the face of gender-related social and environmental risks. Furthermore, interventions regarding women’s participation in advisory boards through international benchmarks, and the importance of ESG standards for Fund Administrators, enriched the discussion. 

Closing the gender gap represents a unique opportunity to strengthen the competitiveness of Mexican financial institutions in line with their Environmental, Social, and Governmental strategies.