Gender
Advancing gender equality by removing barriers, supporting women’s leadership, investing in opportunities for girls and women, and fostering inclusive societies.
Gender
Advancing gender equality by removing barriers, supporting women’s leadership, investing in opportunities for girls and women, and fostering inclusive societies.
Gender
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is committed to advancing gender equality as a driver of inclusive growth and resilience across its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs). Gender considerations are integrated into the Bank’s policies, programmes, and projects, ensuring that outcomes contribute to equal opportunities for women and men, strengthen institutional capacity, and reduce vulnerabilities linked to inequality. Through strategic partnerships, knowledge exchange, and targeted investments, CDB works to transform gender commitments into tangible impact.
Focus Areas
CDB applies rigorous gender analysis to programme design and delivery, building the capacity of institutions to integrate gender equality into development planning. In 2024, the Bank launched the Caribbean Gender Equality Knowledge Exchange Lab, training over 150 policymakers on mainstreaming gender into trade and strengthening gender focal point systems. The Bank also revised its Gender Equality Action Plan (2025–2027), which sets out a multi-sectoral roadmap for embedding gender equality in national and regional strategies.
CDB supports initiatives that expand opportunities for women entrepreneurs and leaders, recognising their central role in driving economic growth. At the first Gender Equality Forum convened during SIDS4, the Bank showcased beneficiaries of its SheTrades Hub through a Gender Equality Entrepreneurial Village, while fostering dialogue on inclusive climate finance in partnership with Caribbean Women in Leadership. These efforts highlight CDB’s commitment to creating enabling environments where women can access resources, markets, and decision-making spaces.
Addressing gender-based violence (GBV) remains a priority for CDB, given its profound social and economic costs. In partnership with UN Women and the University of the West Indies, the Bank established the Caribbean GBV Practice Network, engaging regional professionals and producing tailored resources on innovative GBV responses.
CDB also invests in training frontline officers, community liaisons, and project specialists to integrate gender equality and social inclusion into infrastructure and energy initiatives, ensuring safer and more equitable development outcomes.
