The EIB Group, made up of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), is bringing together prominent women leaders from the private sector across all 27 European Union member states under the initiative to accelerate action on climate change. Forty members of the network met for the first time this month at the EIB Group headquarters in Luxembourg.

The importance of women’s leadership in the development and implementation of climate solutions is widely acknowledged. However, the number of women business leaders in the field is still limited, while EIB research shows that women-led firms achieve higher environmental, climate, social and governance scores.  

Members of the Women Climate Leaders Network will share knowledge and best practices for accelerating climate action, and work on new business models and ways to enable the low-carbon and green transformation.

The Network comprises 47 professionals with diverse careers, sector expertise, ages, nationalities and educational backgrounds. They range from fund managers and heads of sustainability and environmental management, to CEOs and founders of venture capital funds.  

Nadia Calviño, EIB President, comments: ‘To ensure that the green transition is attainable for all, we must support affordable solutions that deliver competitiveness, climate action and social cohesion. By joining forces with prominent women from the private sector, I am confident that the new Women Climate Leaders Network will provide fresh ideas and momentum for more transformational investment.’

41% of EU scientists and engineers are women

In related news, new data from Eurostat has found that there were almost 7.3 million female scientists and engineers in the EU in 2022 – 310,500 more than in 2021, accounting for 41% of total employment in science and engineering.

The data shows that women working as scientists and engineers were primarily employed in the service sector, comprising 46% of scientists and engineers there, whereas in manufacturing, only 22% of those employed as scientists and engineers were women. The proportion of female scientists and engineers also varies widely amongst states, ranging from 53% in Denmark, 52% in Lithuania and 51% in Bulgaria, to 34% in Germany, 32% in Finland and 31% in Hungary.

Find out more about creating the diverse talent required for the energy transition – visit POWERful Women (PfW), a professional body for which the EI acts as the Secretariat, that is working with business leaders, diversity and inclusion experts, government, regulators and aspiring women to creating a gender-balanced, diverse and inclusive UK energy sector.