GFDD/Funglode to Co-Host a UN Panel Discussion on Financial Inclusion as a Tool for Poverty Eradication and the Empowerment of Women

GFDD in partnership with the NGO Committee for Social Development and the NGO Committee on Financing for Development will host an interactive debate on Monday March 13 from 4.30pm to 6pm in the Boss Room of the UN Church Center for the United Nations on the 8th floor of 777 United Nations Plaza in New York City.

As part of this CSW 61 high level side event the expert speakers will seek to generate substantive discussions around the topic of financial
inclusion as a tool for poverty eradication and women’s empowerment.

Background
The latest numbers from Global Findex, a comprehensive database on financial inclusion from the World Bank Group, reveal that while more than 700 million people gained access to formal financial services between 2011 and 2014, the gender gap in financial inclusion remains a stark reality with women in emerging economies having a 20%
less likely of having a bank account than men and 17% less likely to have borrowed formally.

Studies also show that women in rural areas tend to be less educated and less likely to be formally employed. The lack of financial inclusion makes it harder for women, especially in rural
areas, where in many households she is the sole income earner or the main income earner, to save for the future and borrow the necessary funds to grow her business, send her children to school and own assets.

About CSW61
The sixty-first session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 13 to 24 March 2017. The Priority theme is Women’s economic empowerment in the
changing world of work and the Review theme is Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls.

About the NGO Committee on Financing for Development
The NGO Committee on Financing for Development at the United Nations advocates for a worldwide economy that is environmentally and socially sustainable, ethical, and people-centered. Guided by the 2002 Monterrey Consensus, we urge
policymakers to support development strategies that end global poverty and advance human rights.

About the NGO Committee on Social Development
The NGO Committee on Social Development is dedicated to raising awareness of and contributing to discussions on social development issues taken up by the United Nations (UN) System and in particular by the UN Commission for Social Development. The Committee also advocates on social development issues
in other forums such as the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and at the General Assembly. Committee members keep one another informed and deliver group statements to the UN voicing ideas and positions on key social development issues. In addition, the Committee is focused contributing to the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit on Social Development.

When: Monday March 13, 2017 from 4.30pm to 6.00pm
Where: Boss Room of the UN Church Center for the United Nations, 8th floor, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY, 10017
To register for this event please contact Anita.Thomas@simon.rochester.edu

Related Links:
61st Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
http://www.ngosonffd.org/
https://ngosocdev.org/