Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands will give a speech at the ABN AMRO head office in Amsterdam on 16 February 2022 at the presentation of a report titled “The importance of inclusivity in banking”. Queen Máxima will attend in her capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA).
The event and report aim to raise awareness about the barriers experienced by different female banking client groups in the Netherlands, as well as to discuss how to best address these barriers moving forward. The Office of the UNSGSA served on an expert panel that provided strategic advice during the writing and development of the report.
The UNSGSA will be in attendance throughout, including to deliver the keynote address, to listen to a presentation of key findings from the report, and to participate in various small-group discussions on the report’s topics.
A key component of the UNSGSA’s agenda has been to increase financial inclusion of women, a traditionally underserved group. According to the latest World Bank Global Findex (2017), 72% of men compared to 65% of women have an account—representing a global gender gap of 7%. In developing countries, that divide increases to 9%.
In 2020, the UNSGSA published a report examining how different jurisdictions were collecting and using gender-disaggregated data for financial policymaking. Closely linked, last September the UNSGSA launched a pair of policy notes to help guide policymakers on financial health, particularly for undeserved segments such as women, to bolster resilience against economic shocks.
The ABN AMRO report helps provide insight into the benefits of making the financial sector work better for women in the Netherlands.
The UNSGSA is expected to emphasize in her remarks that inclusive banking is one of the best ways to prepare the Netherlands for the future and to ensure that Dutch society is more financially resilient.
It will be held in a hybrid format in Dutch with English translation from 15:00-16:30 (CET) / 09:00-10:30 (EST). To register to watch online, please click here.