CAF and UN Women promoting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment

CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, and the United Nations Organization for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen their cooperation and promote joint initiatives on gender equality, diversity and social inclusion in favor of women and girls in the region.

The agreement sets an agenda of joint work on four main areas: enhancing gender-lens in CAF investments and loans; loans’ accompaniment to amplify gender equality and women’s empowerment results; annual identification and recognition of key actors financing gender equality; and strengthening promising gender equality practices within CAF.

The Executive President of CAF, Sergio Díaz-Granados, referring to the Memorandum of Understanding with UN Women, said: “The empowerment of women in Latin America and the Caribbean is one of our priorities; therefore, we are pleased to sign this memorandum with UN Women to work together for a better future for the region. For us, signing this agreement implies the first step of a strategic alliance that I truly believe will achieve concrete results in gender equality”.

Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women commented: “Financing for gender equality is a central part of financing for development, regional banks like CAF are leading on innovative funding and sustainable development investments. This partnership will help in co-create new initiatives towards gender equality and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Latin America¨.

UN Women is a subsidiary body of the United Nations with the mission to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women, which recognizes the importance of collaborating and cooperating with partners to achieve its mission and strategic objectives.

CAF supports the mission of UN Women and recognizes that it is necessary to back up countries in achieving the SDGs, especially the SDG 5, which refers to achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, as well as in the goals related to gender issues contemplated in those objectives.

The Memorandum of Understanding that UN Women and CAF signed is one step further in the promotion of the sustainable development model through loans, non-reimbursable resources, and technical and financial structuring support of public and private projects in the region.