Banks have a unique opportunity to speed up progress in society through their roles as employers and as finance providers to their communities. We can help banks become better employers of men and women and provide finance to wider segments of society. Moreover, as the umbrella federation of the national banking associations, the EBF has an additional opportunity to be more inclusive in the way it gathers input and presents the banking sector view and promote best practices for banking associations as trade associations and as employers themselves.

Banks’ role is unique because a bank touches the lives of women in many different ways – as employees, shareholders, investors, clients, providers of services – and each relationship is a chance to push equality forward a little more. When we take action, we have an amplifying impact on society like no other. More diverse banks serve more diverse clients – who in turn employ new people, open new businesses, and find new solutions to complex problems. Exactly what we need as we try to recover from the current COVID crisis, and face urgent societal, economic and global challenges.