Grupo Financiero Banorte Signed the Women's Empowerment Principles, a UN Women and UN Global Compact's Initiative

September 2, 2014 /3BL Media/ - On August 19th, Grupo Financiero Banorte CEO Alejandro Valenzuela signed the Women's Empowerment Principles with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). With this act the institution demonstrates its commitment to reducing the gap of inequality between women and men in Mexico and Latin America.

Comprised of 7 principles, the Women's Empowerment Principles help businesses promote gender equality and empower women in the workplace, the marketplace served by the company and their communities. These principles are a result of the collaboration between UN Women and the United Nations Global Compact.

By signing, Alejandro Valenzuela has indicated that "Banorte recognizes that a diverse and inclusive workforce improves productivity, collaboration and commitment. We also acknowledge that Mexico's prosperity cannot be achieved in conditions of inequality for Mexican women in their communities and workplace."

Banorte's CEO also added "We adopted the UN Women's Empowerment Principles with the objective of becoming a leader in gender equality in Mexico's financial sector and to work for the economic empowerment of women throughout the country."

The signing was realized within the context of the Annual Summit of the Global Compact in Mexico "Construction of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, Private Sector Contribution", held in Mexico City with Grupo Financiero Banorte Executive Director of Social Responsibility, Mayra Hernández González sitting on the "Women's Empowerment Principles" panel.

In her speech, Mayra Hernández emphasized that "the economic empowerment of women is a fundamental factor in achieving equal opportunities between men and women.  Only by adopting development strategies in which the gender perspective is integrated into each one of our actions can we achieve prosperity for Mexico." She added, "Together we can make Mexico stronger but this requires a coordinated effort between the public and private sectors."

Sitting on the panel, which she shared with Ana Güezmes, UN Women Representative in Mexico and María del Carmen Bernal, Director of the Research Center for Women at IPADE, Mayra Hernández also said, "By adopting the Women's Empowerment Principles, we reiterate our commitment to Mexican women, and we invite other companies to join and commit to this initiative and empower women to make Mexico stronger."

Ana Güezmes indicated that, "Countries and businesses with greater gender equality enjoy higher levels of growth and better performance. Investing in women, in their development and leadership, and in equal opportunities, isn't just the right thing to do - it's the smart thing to do."  And she added, "If we want to create a future with sustainable development, we must work together to make business synonymous with equality and development, we have the proof: equality means business."

Finally, Gustavo Pérez, President of the Mexico Global Compact, affirmed that businesses gain much by empowering women in the workforce and this helps the marketplace, the community and the construction of a more developed society.

Banorte has a long tradition of developing specific products for the female gender, such as its Mujer Banorte  (Banorte Woman) concept, which this year celebrates 10 years of supporting women in their different facets of life, providing financial benefits, assistance, discounts and promotions related to health, patrimony, and personal and professional growth. 

Source: Press release issued by Grupo Financiero Banorte, UN Women and the UN Global Compact, Mexico City, D.F., August 19th, 2014.