Koba Gvenetadze, Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, took part in the Ring the Bell for Gender Equality event organized by the Stock Exchange and UN Women.

 

Governor Gvenetadze was pleased to address the event participants in the opening portion of the event, discussing the importance of women's involvement in the financial sector. He highlighted the impact of gender equality on central banks and the financial sector. "Gender inequality affects the economy. It is of utmost importance for the development of the country to have women as equal participants in the economy, in society and in policymaking. This is especially true in a crisis period such as today. Many Ukrainian women are fighting for the future of their country," Governor Gvenetadze noted.

 

 

The NBG Governor briefed the audience on the specific reforms implemented in gender equality. “Improving an access to financial knowledge and financial services is the priority for all of us at the NBG. In this respect, the Financial Education Portal, launched in 2020 by the NBG, might be a valuable contributor. Apart from this, to support the equal representation of women in management, in 2018 the NBG approved the Corporate Governance Code that states that at least one third of the Supervisory Board of a commercial bank must be composed of independent members of the Board. Also, at least 20% (no less than 1 member) of the Board must be female. Before this requirement, female representation on Boards was 9%, whereas currently the share has increased up to 30%. As for the Senior and Middle Management roles in the National Bank, the proportion of women is about 40% and among the seven members of the NBG Board, two are women.

 

The Georgia Ring the Bell 2022 event will provide a platform for participating IFIs and commercial banks to voice their vision of accelerated actions for gender equality, discussing ways to work together to launch impactful initiatives for greater gender equality in the financial sector of the country. These initiatives include but are not limited to measures towards the increased representation of women on the boards of commercial banks and capacity development support to increase women board members’ candidate pool.

 

 

The Ring the Bell for Gender Equality event was attended by: Ms. Sabine Machl, UN Resident Coordinator in Georgia, H.E. Helene Sand Andresen, Ambassador of Norway to Georgia, Ms. Nino Kurdiani, CFO, Georgian Stock Exchange, Ms. Ivana Fernandes Duarte, IFC Regional Manager for the South Caucasus, along with representatives of civil society, government agencies and business associations.