Put More Women On Top Of World Bank, IMF To Tackle Climate: Aviva CEO

There should be more women at the top of multilateral organizations to help alleviate the financial impact of climate change, Amanda Blanc, chief executive of British insurer Aviva and chair of a climate action group, said.

Photo Insert: Amanda Blanc (center) gracing a corporate ceremony in Dubai

Blanc and other senior leaders in the Women in Finance Climate Action Group will present recommendations on Nov. 3 at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland for better gender balance in organizations that provide climate finance.

The group is also seeking a global framework for reporting gender data and metrics to help in climate-related investment decisions, Carolyn Cohn and Simon Jessop reported for Reuters.

About 80% of people displaced by climate change are women, but only 19% of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) board members are female, Blanc said in an interview with Reuters late on Monday.

"If women are 51% of the population, is it that unreasonable to expect that the number (be) greater than 19%," said Blanc, who is also Britain's Women in Finance Charter Champion.

"You've got to be looking at something closer to 30-40% to make sure you've got good representation and a good voice around the table."

Other members of the Women in Finance Climate Action Group include Sarah Breeden, executive director of the Bank of England, Irina Ghaplanyan, senior adviser at WB, Alison Rose, CEO of NatWest, and Tanya Steele, CEO of WWF UK.

The group is also seeking improvements in women's access to financial services and gender equity in governments' climate plans.

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