Engaging business to advance gender equity

Gender bonds should resonate with investors since they reflect their commitment to pushing gender equality forward. The bonds can be used to get new sources of financing, which can tackle gender discrimination at multiple levels

Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on women’s agency in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries such as India, where women face obstacles on several counts. So, it becomes imperative to speed up the process of finding ways to fund measures to advance gender equality. One initiative worth mentioning is the Business Sector Advisory Council (BSAC), comprising senior business and corporate leaders as part of a global initiative by UN Women. It aims at getting the corporate sector to engage more deeply in unleashing the potential of the private sector for realising the goals of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

“Empowering women is pivotal to accelerate economic growth. By bringing together large corporations under BSAC, we aim at positively impacting women, their families, and their communities on their terms...I am confident of further expanding a diversified representation by the private sector in the council to promote women’s economic empowerment.” (HT PHOTO)

Susan Ferguson, country representative, UN Women India, says, “This Council focuses on accelerating economic and social progress for women and girls in India. It comprises prominent private sector leaders whose businesses have a global footprint and are known as corporate citizens. Through their expertise, reach and resources, these corporate leaders have demonstrated strong commitment to supporting women and girls.” This is a crucial step in establishing women-led economic growth because sectors which employ a large female workforce are struggling to get on their feet due to the pandemic blows. The initiative will be executed through five subcommittees: Fintech, digital and skilling, micro, small and medium enterprises, innovative finance and clean energy, and climate action.

The chairperson of BSAC, Deepak Premnarayen says, “Empowering women is pivotal to accelerate economic growth. By bringing together large corporations under BSAC, we aim at positively impacting women, their families, and their communities on their terms...I am confident of further expanding a diversified representation by the private sector in the council to promote women’s economic empowerment.”

In India, UN Women also works with BSAC members to socialise Gender Bond Guidelines (GBG). These will support the debt market ecosystem, including new and existing bond issuers, borrowers, underwriters, arrangers, and external reviewers, to integrate gender equality objectives into businesses. It will also provide useful information to investors to understand projects and strategies that are designed to advance gender equality. In addition, the innovative instruments are designed to push capital towards sustainable economic activities, among them sustainable and sustainability-linked bonds.

Ferguson emphasises the need to invest more in women’s interests. “The global debt capital markets can play an important role in financing progress towards gender equality in both public and private sectors. The GBG can help in achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment as measurable targets in different bond structures. We look forward to many success stories from the growth of the sustainable bond market.”

India is one of the fastest-growing environmental, social and governance (ESG) markets globally. It issued $9.4 billion worth of ESG bonds in 2021, against $1.3 billion in 2020. Till mid-2021, 10 Indian firms raised $4.64 billion via sustainable bonds, as against the $950 million raised by two firms in 2020. In 2021, there was growing traction for sustainability-linked bonds in India, linked to achieving predetermined sustainability performance targets.

What India needs are sovereign gender bonds, which is what UN Women is working towards. Gender bonds should resonate with investors since they reflect their commitment to pushing gender equality forward. The bonds can be used to get new sources of financing, which can tackle gender discrimination at multiple levels. They can also help to diversify the investor base.

But, before these can translate into concrete measures towards gender empowerment, investors must be convinced that this is in their long-term interest. There is also a lack of knowledge on gender and how it can help sustain current business models. Finally, there is the apprehension that gender integration will mean additional costs. But none of these are insurmountable, given the will and commitment to making the post-pandemic recovery as women-centric as possible.