Sustainable finance
Gender Bond
A bond — structured under social, sustainability, or sustainability-linked principles — whose proceeds or targets are dedicated to advancing gender equality.
Definition
A gender bond is a debt instrument aligned with the ICMA Social Bond Principles, Sustainability Bond Guidelines, or Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles that focuses exclusively or primarily on gender equality — either by financing eligible gender-focused projects (use-of-proceeds structures) or by tying financial characteristics to gender-related key performance indicators (sustainability-linked structures).
References
definition and structures
Overview
What it means
Gender bonds channel capital-market finance toward outcomes such as women's entrepreneurship, women-owned SMEs, female employment and leadership, and services for women and girls. The UN Women/ICMA guide "Bonds to Bridge the Gender Gap" set out how issuers can structure credible instruments within existing labelled-bond frameworks.
How it is used
Development banks, corporates, and sovereigns issue gender bonds; investors use them to target SDG 5 outcomes; and second-party opinions verify frameworks and reporting.
Why it matters
It is the flagship instrument of gender-lens fixed income, making gender equality an investable use of proceeds rather than a screening criterion alone.
Review
Public comments appear only after editor acceptance. Draft comments stay in the review queue.
Reviewers choose the definition or an overview paragraph, leave a comment or replacement, and attach evidence or a source link.
Editors compare reviewer cards side by side. AI may help find agreement, conflicts, unsupported claims and possible source issues.
Only an editor-accepted synthesis changes the public page. Reviewer identities are shown only with consent and an editorial decision to attribute them.
Submitted reviews stay private until an editor decides whether to accept and attribute them.
Contribute to this entry
Help improve this definition
Your contribution is private while it is checked. Nothing changes on this page unless an editor accepts it.
Loading verified endorsements… Endorsements are not votes and never determine publication.
Endorse this definition
Endorse the exact version shown here. This is not a vote, and publication remains an editorial decision.
Review board
Comment on a specific line. Each reviewer stays separate until an editor accepts a merged draft.
Each person comments on the definition or overview in their own draft card, with role, evidence and suggested wording kept together.
AI can compare comments against the current text, flag conflicting claims, surface missing evidence and identify where reviewers agree.
An editor merges compatible suggestions into a draft change, checks sources, records disagreements and decides what can be published.