International Financial Institutions

Photo: UN Women/Fahad Kaizer
Shona Banu Begum lives in Patarkhola village in India with her son, daughter-in-law and their two grandchildren. She worked in a brick kiln, but the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent Cyclone Amphan left them in desperate need of more financial aid to make ends meet. She received cash support from UN Women, which allowed her to purchase a goat and fish fries, which she cultivated in a pond. Photo: UN Women/Fahad Kaizer

UN Women’s partnerships with International Financial Institutions (IFIs) aim to influence their strategies and financing decisions to support the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in alignment with the current Strategic Plan Outcome 2 on Financing for Gender Equality.

UN Women works with the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund, and various regional development banks. In Asia and the Pacific, UN Women collaborates with the Asian Development Bank.

Asian Development Bank

Asian Development Bank and UN Women sign 5-year agreement in March 2022 to raise women’s status in Asia and the Pacific
Asian Development Bank and UN Women sign 5-year agreement in March 2022 to raise women’s status in Asia and the Pacific.

Since 2016, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and UN Women have cooperated to promote women’s equality and empowerment in Asia and the Pacific through:

  • strengthening gender data and statistics to track and monitor the Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 5 on gender equality;
  • promoting gender-responsive governance tools to ensure accountability and resources on gender equality;
  • supporting women’s entrepreneurship and gender-responsive value chains;
  • preventing gender-based violence;
  • advancing knowledge, evidence and tools on gender and climate change.

The partnership also creates opportunities for sustainable financing for gender equality. ADB and UN Women aim to increase knowledge of financing gaps, give priority to gender equality in financing decisions, and assess policy impacts to leverage new and innovative financing approaches.