Gema Sacristán is IDB Invest's Chief Investment Officer. She joined the Inter-American Development Bank in 2008 as an Investment Officer in the Structured and Corporate Finance Department, where she subsequently became Chief of the Financial Markets Division. Prior to this role, she held various leadership positions in commercial and investment banking in Madrid, London and New York. Among them, she was the director of the Export and Agency Financing Unit for the Americas at BBVA New York and vice president and product manager in the area of Global Trade Finance at Banco Santander Nueva York.
Latin America has become the leading region in gender bond issuance, totaling 14 transactions and 12 issuers. Gender bonds are a great financial alternative to empower women from an economic, business and social standpoint.
The first gender bond in the region was issued in 2019 by the Panama unit of a bank based in Colombia, a country that has never stopped leading the sustainable investment market. However, more and better access to financing is still needed to consolidate this progress and grow.
Sustainable Development Goal 13, Climate Action, is a cornerstone for the rest of the goals. It is the single piece that, once set in motion, makes the other dominoes fall.
There is a significant call for more female representation at the top levels of energy companies. But it's not just a matter of adding to equalize shares. It's about ensuring that the female perspective is present throughout the energy sector's value chain.
Financial institutions have a critical role to play in the process of decarbonizing economies. Without their help, it will be impossible to finance the estimated $1.5 trillion (equivalent to 5% of the global GDP) needed to transition towards a green economy.
'Bells' for gender equality are ringing in stock markets in Latin America and the Caribbean, as a powerful sign that a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery will depend largely on how much more we invest in women.