IWD2024: Governor Monticelli's statement

08 March 2024

On this International Women’s Day, I am proud to add the CEB’s voice to the global efforts to forge a more inclusive world for women.

Although there is much progress to celebrate, the journey to gender equality remains arduous, even in the most progressive corners of the world. And yet, in a world that continues to grapple with multiple crises and heightened uncertainty, achieving inclusion for women and girls is the only way forward to building just societies and a better future for all, including men.

The CEB actively invests in fostering social inclusion in its 43 member countries. Empowering women and girls to achieve gender equality is a prominent cross-cutting consideration that shapes and informs all Bank’s operations as per our Strategic Framework 2023-2027.

Our investment in women takes many forms:

Financing women-led businesses and encouraging women entrepreneurship, including among migrants and refugees.
Supporting women’s health by providing quality healthcare accessible to everyone.
Providing vital financial resources to help victims of gender violence rebuild their lives.
Our commitment to gender equality is also strong in our internal operations.

I am delighted by the progress we have made in attracting and promoting female talent to leadership roles within the CEB. In 2023, 22 new staff joined the CEB, from 16 different nationalities: 73% being women and 27% men. Three women were hired in senior management positions. This marks substantial progress towards the Bank’s target of ensuring that women are represented in 40% of senior roles (grades A4 and above), with such percentage having increased to 38% in 2023, up from 34% in 2022.

While our EDGE gender equality certification at the MOVE level puts the Bank on par with peer International Financial Institution[1] , we are not resting on our laurels. We continue to make concerted efforts, in consultation with the CEB’s employee-driven Diversity and Inclusion Group, towards achieving the next certification level, EDGE PLUS.

On IWD 2024 and beyond, I count on your continued dedication and contributions towards cultivating an even more supportive work environment for empowering women and strengthening diversity at the CEB.

Carlo Monticelli

Governor

[1] Other IOs that are EDGE Move certified are the Caribbean Development Bank, EBRD, EIB, IADB, World Bank, as well as the ECB, IMF, OECD

The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) is a multilateral development bank, whose unique mission is to promote social cohesion in its 43 member states across Europe. The CEB finances investment in social sectors, including education, health and affordable housing, with a focus on the needs of vulnerable people. Borrowers include governments, local and regional authorities, public and private banks, non-profit organisations and others. As a multilateral bank with an excellent credit rating, the CEB funds itself on the international capital markets. It approves projects according to strict social, environmental and governance criteria, and provides technical assistance. In addition, the CEB receives funds from donors to complement its activities.