THE ORANGE PLEDGE™
Giving women and gender minorities a seat at the table can have significant positive impact across the world, advancing economic prosperity, sustainable peace, and climate resilience.
Research estimates that if countries exhibit true gender equality 26% could be added to global GDP by 2025, and that women’s participation in peace agreements extends their probability of lasting at least 15 years by 35%. However, the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated global gender inequalities and current estimates predict it will now take over 130 years to eradicate the global gender gap. This, coupled with the disproportionate effects of the climate crisis, has greatly increased the urgency for the full and equal participation of women,girls and gender minorities in all spheres of life. By addressing the gender gap now, the world will benefit through increased social equality, enhanced economic stability, and accelerated climate action.
We, therefore, agree on the importance and timeliness of the Orange Pledge - a global movement for building an Orange (gender-equal) world. This entails all initiatives that are in pursuit of gender equality, including but not limited to the economic/finance, business, social, political and environmental spheres of life.
Orange Bond Initiative™
As a signatory of the Orange Pledge, we support the Orange Bond Initiative™ – the world’s first asset class by and for the Global South and the 99% – as a solution to be explored in financing gender equality and promoting gender-equal finance.
This Orange Bond asset class will empower ~100 million women worldwide to build a more resilient, green future through unlocking US10 billion by 2030. The Initiative will tap into the US$100 trillion bond market to place women at the forefront of capital markets.
We affirm our commitment to supporting its goal of empowering approximately 100 million women and girls worldwide through unlocking US$10 billion by 2030, through the achievement of its three key objectives:
Building a gender-empowered financing system that works better for everyone by supporting and applying a set of global standards, indices, and performance metrics for investing in gender equality.
Mobilizing new sources of capital for women’s empowerment at scale by providing and using the tools, training, and knowledge products that enable gender lens investment product development.
Fast-tracking gender equality and women’s empowerment by using capital in ways that value women and girls as solutions to a more resilient, green future.
We invite and call upon all changemakers, policy makers, and capital holders to join us as part of our Initiative, and contribute towards building a gender-equal future.
