From March 10 to 21, New York became the global arena for the fight for gender equality with the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69)
Laura Fernández Lord, head of Sustainability, Equality and Inclusion of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF), had an active and outstanding participation which brought the Foundation’s experience and commitment to drive female entrepreneurship and poverty reduction to the most significant forum on Women.
Her agenda was full of activities where she joined different meetings and discussions on health, education and financial inclusion of women. As she pointed out: “We had bilateral meetings with CAF, with ITU, with UN women… There are meny of us: organizations and people, who are working for a better world for the most vulnerable women. In our case, for 1.7 million women entrepreneurs in five Latin American countries. We will continue to support their financial inclusion and economic empowerment because it is the weapon we have to achieve sustainable development in their countries.”
This year, the event took on special meaning as it commemorated the 3oth anniversary of the historic Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a document that laid the foundations for women empowerment at the global level. The CSW69 served as a stage for assessing the current challenges that persist and prevent gender equality.
An intense and multidisciplinary agenda
Panel & Cocktail Reception Women’s Leadership and Strategic Alliances: Promoting Gender Equality
The event’s objective was to highlight the gender equality agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean, strengthening networks and designing innovative strategies for women’s empowerment and the creation of more equitable entrepreneurship and investment ecosystems in the region.
It was organized by the Americas Society/Council of the Americas and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), with the participation of the Costa Rican Ministry for the Status of Women.
Meeting with Spain’s Minister of Equality
Laura Fernández Lord participated in this meeting organized by the Government of Spain, where she progress made and remaining challenges were discussed, in the context of 30 years post-Beijing.
The spokeswoman for the BBVAMF explained the Foundation’s work in the economic empowerment of 1.7 million women entrepreneurs in five Latin American countries.
Rural Women in the World: 30 years since Beijing
The Head of Sustainability, Equality and Inclusion at BBVAMF also participated as a panelist in the event organized by AFAMMER (Association of Families and Women of the Rural World). The discussion focused on the progress made in the last 30 years and the strategies needed to ensure that rural women are central figures of social and economic change.
They addressed challenges such as access to land, the burden of unpaid work, limited participation in the public sphere and the digital divide. Fernández Lord shared relevant data on the rural women supported by the BBVAMF who account for almost 30% of the total number of women entrepreneurs.
Generation Equality Reception
A networking function organized by Generation Equality, Fernández Lord participated to strengthen collaborations with the institution, identify collective priorities for women’s and girls’ equality and raise awareness of the Action Coalitions’ 2025 priorities. The need for joint actions and multi-sectoral alliances in the face of global backsliding on gender equality was highlighted.
Generation Equality: A Collaborative Dialogue with the Philanthropy
The BBVAMF representative was a panelist at a roundtable organized by UN Women and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Centre.
The event focused on reflecting, assessing progress and renewing commitments to gender equality, exploring funding data and showcasing impactful partnerships such as the Generation Equality model.
Special focus was placed on the work of philanthropic organizations, such as BBVAMF, to bring new perspectives and solutions to development.
CSW69 | Interactive dialogue: Accelerating implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action
In this interactive dialogue, Fernandez Lord shared the importance of women’s economic empowerment as a strategic pillar of BBVAMF, along with inclusion and environmental sustainability.
She emphasized that investing in women is key to reducing poverty, mentioning that half of the women supported by the Foundation cross the poverty threshold (their initial condition) within 3 years. 
Advancing Beijing through Climate Finance
In this event, Fernandez Lord addressed the connection between gender equality and the environment, a key aspect of the Beijing Declaration.
Among the topics discussed was how climate finance can strengthen partnerships to advance equality in climate and environmental action.
Fernandez Lord recalled that BBVAMF, through its green microfinance, seeks to reduce women’s vulnerability to climate change with products such as Agromujer.
World Summit on the Information Society Accelerating Gender Equality in the Digital Age
This event, organized by ITU (UN specialized agency for digital technologies) highlighted the need to integrate gender equality into global digital policies. Strategies for the digital empowerment of women and girls were discussed, underlining their importance in the Beijing+30 review.
In this regard, the BBVAMF spokeswoman recalled the importance of a comprehensive approach to female empowerment, including not only access to financial services, but also training in digital and business skills.
Meeting with employees of BBVA New York offices
During her stay in New York, Laura Fernández Lord shared the actions and initiatives of BBVAMF related to the economic and social empowerment of women, at BBVA’s local branch.
Numerous employees attended the talk she gave and were able to see firsthand BBVAMF’s long-term commitment to women entrepreneurs in Latin America. In the region, the rate of business founded by women is 21% and the Foundation plays a crucial role in this scenario: “We will continue to raise the voice of the women entrepreneurs we serve because we cannot afford to take a single step backwards. Gender equality has to do with rights, but it also has to do with economic growth, with equal opportunities and, above all, with sustainable development and the eradication of poverty in the world,” said Fernández Lord.
