A gender-responsive environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure framework — jointly developed by the UN Women China and the International Institute of Green Finance of the Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE) — recently received a big boost. It was included and acknowledged in the Report of the Under-Secretary-General/Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women on the Implementation of the Strategic Plan 2022–2025.

This report covers progress made in over 110 countries and regions worldwide. Its inclusion marks a significant achievement in the research and practice of CUFE in the ESG field. It follows the incorporation of CUFE's report called Landscape Analysis Summary: Advancing Gender Finance in China into an authoritative publication by the UN Women's headquarters.

A section of the UN Women's report on China's ESG framework

Since 2024, the UN Women China and CUFE's IIGF have been doing research on the disclosure of gender-related indicators by Chinese commercial banks. Last year, they released the report Gender in ESG Disclosure among Commercial Banks in China: Evidence from 32 A-Share Listed Commercial Banks. Building on this, they jointly developed the Action Guide for Gender-Responsive ESG in Chinese Commercial Banks. The guide is grounded in the practical development of Chinese commercial banks. It's in line with the Five Key Areas of Finance and international sustainable finance frameworks — providing a clear and feasible action guide for the industry to undertake gender-responsive ESG initiatives. The guide is expected to be published in September this year.

Moving forwards, plans are for CUFE to work with more related institutions and forces to deepen cooperation in the formulation of gender-responsive ESG standards, commercial practices, and other areas of mutual concern. The aim is to enhance the financial system's role in supporting the sustainable development of women.

Writers: DENG Jielin, DUAN Danchen

Reviewers: WANG Hongmei, ZHANG Jian

Editors: WANG Xinyu

Approvers: HUO Xiaoran