Gender Equality Could Boost Global GDP by More than 20%

The Commission highlighted realities proving that despite significant progress, no country has yet managed to close the gender gap. Discriminatory laws and social practices persist, hindering progress and affecting vital areas such as property rights, labor market access, and entrepreneurship. UN Women emphasizes that these "invisible barriers" will stall economic equality for the next 286 years. Currently, according to the World Bank, only 4% of women worldwide live in countries that offer near-full legal equality.

In Latin America, 8.3% of women still lag behind in bank account ownership (73% compared to 81% of men, according to the 2025 Global Findex). This indicates that many women must still seek approval from husbands or male relatives to make significant financial decisions.

During the event organized by BBVAMF, which featured leaders from some of the world’s foremost development institutions, Michelle Muschett, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNDP), stressed the importance of building consensus and effective institutions to dismantle the biases and social norms restricting women's opportunities and freedoms.

“Nine out of ten people hold at least one gender-based bias. The first step is acknowledging that over half of the global population believes men make better leaders than women. This fact directly correlates with how we manage our institutions, our labor markets, and how we formulate public policy. This creates a vicious cycle that results in fewer opportunities, lower income, and the perpetuation of poverty,” Muschett stated.

In this scenario, innovative financial inclusion solutions are a key tool. Javier M. Flores, CEO of BBVAMF, underscored the importance of eliminating the numerous gender-based social and legal restrictions that still prevent women from entering the workforce or starting a business. Seven out of ten entrepreneurs working with the institution who cross the poverty threshold are women.

“In the Dominican Republic, we grant credit to rural women without requiring land titles, which are often held by men. As noted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), we are the only institution that approves higher loan amounts for women under the same interest rates and terms. In Peru, we offer digital lending that does not require a spouse's signature,” Flores highlighted.

Experts agree that women disproportionately shoulder caregiving responsibilities at home, limiting their growth potential in the labor market. To bridge these gender gaps, Gloria Reyes, Minister of Women of the Dominican Republic, spoke about the need for collaborative efforts across administrations: “We must promote genuine coordination between the State and the private and financial sectors to achieve true inclusion for women.”

This premise was shared by Bibiana Aido, UN Women Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean, who added: “When we discuss poverty and autonomy, we are talking about millions of women in extreme poverty and persistent gaps; this demands urgent action and investment.”

Elsa: A Role Model for Other Women

The event also featured testimonials from women who challenge gender stereotypes daily within their communities. Dominican entrepreneur Elsa María Gómez explained to an audience of over 500 people at the UN how she became a trailblazer through her demolition and recycled construction materials business: “It is important to me because I am my own boss and I decide how to spend my time.”

Elsa is one of nearly two million female entrepreneurs served by BBVAMF. Through her business, she has funded her university degree, her mother’s home, and her children’s education. Like her, 86% of women in Latin America choose self-employment out of necessity, according to the GEM 2024/2025 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report.

“Breaking biases is not just a social challenge; it is a responsibility of the financial sector. We must design solutions that address the reality of women's lives, allowing them to move forward with autonomy and real opportunities,” noted Mercedes Canalda, Executive President of Banco Adopem (the Dominican institution of BBVAMF) which serves over 540,000 female entrepreneurs. Like Elsa, they succeed through their own merit, supported by access to digitalization and financial and non-financial services (savings, life microinsurance, or training) designed for vulnerable entrepreneurs to progress and cross the poverty threshold.

In Latin America, 25% of women lack their own earned income: a figure that contrasts sharply with 10% for men, according to ECLAC’s Gender Equality Observatory. Terence Gallagher, Head of Financial Health at IDB Invest, shared a study conducted with BBVAMF and Banco Adopem analyzing 170,000 loans to show that women exhibit better default rate than men: “With amounts 4% higher, longer terms, and the same interest rates, repayment behavior was identical, showing no increased risk.”

For Ana Güezmes, Director of the Division for Gender Affairs at ECLAC, it is essential to undo four "inequality knots," with the feminization of poverty being particularly critical. “We must end poverty and economic inequality, eradicate the gender division of labor, promote greater participation in economic and political spheres, and build a foundation free of discrimination and violence.” For every 100 men living in poverty in the region, there are 120 women who also lack the necessary mechanisms and resources to escape it.

Accelerating parity measures and ending discriminatory social norms and gender biases is not only a moral imperative but a stabilizing force for economies and a driver of development, which could increase global GDP by more than 20%, according to IDB data.