A new United Nations charter aimed at promoting gender equality in the area of sustainable finance is being launched in Dublin this morning.
The Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S) network has outlined ten objectives which involve the signatories bringing gender considerations into their decision-making, strategies, and operations over the next year.
21 financial networks across the world have signed up to the charter so far, including the International Sustainable Finance Centre of Excellence in Ireland.
The goals include improving access to finance for women-led or owned companies, setting targets for female representation in financial systems and providing more gender focused education programmes.
The charter also encourages regulators and stock markets to publicly provide data on gender metrics within financial systems.
The United Nations Development Programme’s FC4S was set up in 2017 with a mandate to promote sustainable financial development and took on a gender promotion remit in 2021.
Marcos Neto, the Director of the UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub said this charter would be a “foundational instrument” on a path to more equitable finance.
The Minister of State for Financial Services Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said “it has the potential to significantly advance gender equality, not just in financial services, but more broadly across the globe.”
The UNDP’s FC4S secretariat will conduct a survey at the end of next year to assess the progress and collective impact achieved by those who signed the pledge.
It will also provide ongoing support to its members in implementing the selected principles of the charter.
Signatories are being asked to implement at least two objectives within the next year, but it is not legally binding.
