High-profile OeNB conference “Gender, Money and Finance”

Inaugural Vienna Economic Dialogue with Christine Lagarde and Kristalina Georgieva starts on May 20, 2021

OeNB Governor Robert Holzmann welcomes ECB President Christine Lagarde and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to the inaugural Vienna Economic Dialogue to discuss issues of “Gender, Money and Finance.” The two-day conference, co-hosted by the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) with SUERF – The European Money and Finance Forum and the Joint Vienna Institute (JVI), virtually brings together an international audience and numerous distinguished speakers from central banks and universities.

The influence of gender diversity on the performance of financial firms and on the quality of decision-making processes at economic policy bodies are only two questions in the realm of gender, money and finance to be discussed at the conference under the aegis of the OeNB, SUERF and the JVI. Would a balanced gender mix impact or alter decision-making, risk behavior or social responsibility at financial corporations? How does gender affect inflation perceptions and financial literacy, and with what effect? What are academia’s answers to these questions? And what can anecdotal evidence tell us?

“Without gender parity, we may not only leave a large part of the global talent pool untapped,” Governor Holzmann said, “but we also risk foregoing significant improvements in the quality of economic policy deliberations and decisions.”

Vice President of the OeNB General Council Barbara Kolm pointed out how difficult it still is for women to be heard and to assert their rights. “Only if women are adequately represented in decision-making bodies, in research, and in all other areas of public life, only then will their voices be sufficiently heard,” she said. With ECB President Christine Lagarde and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, two women at the helm of globally significant institutions are contributing their experience and perspective to the conference.

“Breaking the still prevailing ‘glass ceiling’ requires bottom-to-top empowerment encompassing targeted fiscal, social and labor market policies as well as educational initiatives,” Governor Holzmann added.

The list of highly distinguished speakers at the “Gender, Money and Finance” conference has been kept exclusively female and includes the heads of various institutions and professors teaching at internationally renowned universities. It bears testament to the fact that there is plenty of female expertise in finance – it only needs to be harnessed.