Luxembourg’s finance minister (CSV) in April 2024 presented a 10-point action plan to guide the ministry’s efforts over the next five years in developing the country’s sustainable finance ecosystem. One of those points included boosting gender finance and driving increased gender equality. More details on this topic came in a published by the finance ministry on 4 July 2024.

Established in 2023 by Luxembourg’s finance ministry, the is designed to “support, drive and stimulate gender finance within the Luxembourg financial centre.” It aims to identify opportunities that can be taken by individual actors or through collaborations between the public and private sectors.

“We must do more to increase the representation of women in finance and consider gender perspectives in the development of financial products and services,” Roth said in the communiqué. “As a ministry, we will continue to work with decision makers of the financial sector and other stakeholders to develop actionable solutions and elevate Luxembourg into a centre of excellence in gender finance.”

Seven key elements

The task force’s action plan, which focuses on both “women in finance” and “finance for women,” highlighted seven key points.

1. Elevate women to lead in finance by building a network for women in finance, fostering mentorship, supporting career development and enhancing women’s representation in leadership positions in the financial sector.

2. Develop an attractive learning offer for women in finance by working with partners to develop training and reskilling opportunities, promoting collaboration between the financial industry and education institutions, and showcasing successful and diverse role models to break stereotypes and attract female talents.

3. Foster gender-intelligent products and services by encouraging the development of financial products and services that meet the distinct needs of women, building awareness, and linking financial product innovation to gender.

4. Measure and manage gender balance by building on the Women in Finance Charter dataset to develop indicators that can help achieve more gender balance and inclusivity, as well as identifying areas of underrepresentation.

5. Engage to speak the “same language” by setting up a working definition of gender finance, assessing the applicability of standards and integrating gender considerations into decision-making.

6. Drive innovation and acceleration by bringing together stakeholders to help overcome barriers, foster financial inclusion, drive positive change through finance and promote gender-lens investing.

7. Encourage dialogue and talent engagement by promoting and communicating on gender finance, improving awareness and understanding, and contributing to talent acquisition and retention initiatives.