In the article by Verónica Villacis, an Analyst of the Environmental, Social, and Governance Area of CIFI, we dive into 2021, a period of changes, post-pandemic recovery, and economic crisis. However, it was also a year of momentum towards inclusion and gender equality, where the commitment to respect and promote equal opportunities was strengthened, eliminating discrimination based on gender, race, cultural identity, or disability. Join us in this tour of the progress made in gender inclusion during the past year.
Gender equality should not only be conceived as guaranteeing equal rights for men and women. Still, it should also promote women’s social and economic empowerment and decent work while respecting the particular economic, social, environmental, and cultural conditions of each country, region, or individual. With the employment data collected from our portfolio, we found that the sectors with more than 30% of women in their workforce are Health, Education, Construction and Engineering, and certain types of Energy generation. However, the gap is still relevant to reach 50% female participation in all sectors.
Within this scope, at CIFI, we promote that all the projects we finance identify unequal gender roles and provide equal participation in the labor force, with formal, non-vulnerable, well-paid, and valued jobs, more inclusive and supported by policies, programs, and collaborators with a gender approach rooted from the management level.
At CIFI, we are determined to continue generating economic growth linked to the financing of projects that respect women’s rights in their actions, that guarantee leadership opportunities and equitable remuneration, and that women’s lives are always free of violence for the benefit of homes, communities, and society in Latin America. In this way, CIFI has published its first internally developed gender report, which identifies the labor insertion of women in the projects we finance, the Sustainable Development Goals we impact, and the access provided to women in telecommunications and clean energy in our portfolio.
To find out more, download it here.
