The Central Bank of Jordan directing banks to raise percentage of women's representation in senior management and board positions

The Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, Dr. Adel Al-Sharkas stressed the continuous efforts of the Central Bank of Jordan in supporting and empowering women. Al-Sharkas indicated that the Central Bank launched several key initiatives to support and empower women, including directing banks towards enhancing women’s participation in the banking sector, supporting their access to financial and banking services and products, and removing any obstacles they might face.  More recently, the CBJ directed banks to enhance women’s participation by increasing the percentage of women on banks’ boards to 20% and in senior management to 25% by 2024.

The Governor indicated that the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) (2018-2020) also contributed to providing a practical methodology to increase access to financial services, especially with regard to enhancing financial awareness among women. He added that the NFIS aimed to reduce the gender gap from 53% in 2018 to 35% in 2020, while the actual results indicated a reduction in the gender gap to nearly 29%.

Al-Sharkas pointed that the Central Bank of Jordan is currently in the process of developing the second NFIS (2023-2025) with the vision of promoting responsible and sustainable use of financial services, in which women will be a key targeted group.