( ENSPIRE Community Spotlight ) WEF Gender Bonds Financial Tool To Support Women’s Health
ENSPIRE Contributor: Gabrielle Maya
At the World Economic Forum 2025 (WEF) in Davos, global decision-makers come together to discuss important issues in the workplace with a focus on sustainability. Organizations and government agencies are aligned with progressive values through Gender bonds, an innovative solution to support women experiencing menopause and other health concerns in the workplace. In addition, the 2025 WEF summit, themed Resilience and Renewal: Pathways to a Sustainable Future, will focus on urgent global issues such as decarbonization, water security, and equitable resource distribution. This year’s summit will place increased emphasis on youth and grassroots voices, encouraging innovative perspectives on resilience and sustainable practices for future generations. These gender bonds are financial instruments to advance Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5).
Gender bonds have emerged as a powerful financial tool to drive equity and sustainability within organizations, directly addressing the workplace needs of women and aligning companies with the global gender equity agenda. These bonds offer a concrete mechanism for supporting diversity and inclusion, meeting the evolving demands of the modern workforce. Consider the impact of menopause on women’s personal and professional lives, particularly those in leadership roles. In Africa alone, over 57 million women aged 45 and older represent a crucial workforce segment. Yet, symptoms like brain fog, unpredictable bleeding, fatigue, and mood swings remain stigmatized, often forcing women to suffer in silence. This can lead to career stagnation, reduced productivity, and increased absenteeism. Zurieda Atkinson’s experience at a Fortune 500 company, where she witnessed firsthand the professional disruption caused by severe menopausal symptoms, fueled her advocacy for AI-driven solutions offering personalized accommodations to empower women in their careers.
Gender bonds offer an innovative financing approach for initiatives promoting gender equality and addressing critical workplace health gaps. These bonds provide direct resources toward impactful programs such as Menopause Awareness Programs, funding manager training, and creating employee resources to normalize conversations around this topic. They also support Comprehensive Healthcare Benefits, ensuring coverage for hormone therapy, counseling, and other menopause-related treatments.HR managers utilizing gender bonds take a proactive step toward creating lasting change, aligning with broader workplace goals, and generating a ripple effect that benefits employees, communities, and economies alike.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, corporate leaders and policymakers can explore strategies for integrating gender bonds into governmental frameworks, including scaling the market to complement the success of green bonds, forging public-private partnerships to co-invest in gender-focused initiatives, and developing robust metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of these bonds in advancing workplace inclusivity and overall diversity.
At the 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the Africa Collective will be central to showcasing Africa’s economic potential and its vital role in tackling global challenges, particularly those related to sustainability and gender equality. From January 20–24, 2025, the Collective, hosted by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and under the patronage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, will host an expanded series of Africa-focused events. This initiative provides a unique platform to highlight the continent’s contributions.
As we look to the future, gender bonds and other innovative financial tools can be crucial in driving systemic change. Gender bonds will be the gateway to a better workplace, providing equity, inclusion, and sustainability. For all women who deserve financial support for their health, the WEF can pivot the workforce to stand by and assist. For more information, visit the World Economic Forum 2025.
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