Resilience of the population and reduction of inequalities to environmental and social shocks

Due to its geographic location, climatic conditions, and socio-economic characteristics, Mexico is particularly vulnerable to disasters. Moreover, the threat of natural phenomena such as tropical cyclones, floods, and droughts is expected to increase in the coming years due to climate change.

The government has made the reduction of vulnerability and socio-economic marginalization a priority. This is reflected in national public policiesby focusing on reducing the economic vulnerability of populations and improving access to financial services in marginalized areas.

In this context, the Mexican Ministry of Finance requested support from Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to strengthen mechanisms for better disaster risk management, guide the financial system towards a more sustainable and resilient economic model, and improve the population's access to inclusive and tailored financial services. The government also intends to promote gender equality with these actions.

The  “Resilience of population and reduction of inequalities to environmental and social shocks in Mexico” project is being implemented by Expertise France to enable the Mexican population, including the most vulnerable groups, to overcome environmental and social shocks. It is based on the development of financial instruments to improve the resilience of the Mexican population to environmental and social shocks, with a focus on gender equality.

This technical assistance has been structured around four lines of operations:

• Consolidatng institutional and financial mechanisms for disaster risk management.
• Steering the financial system towards a more sustainable and resilient economic model.
• Improving access to tailored financial services for marginalized populations to strengthen their resilience to environmental and social shocks.
• Promoting gender equality in the financial sector.

The main beneficiaries of the project are: The Mexican Ministry of Finance (SHCP), the Central Bank of Mexico (Banxico), the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), the National Center for Disaster Risk Prevention (CENAPRED), and the National Commission for the Retirement Savings System (CONSAR).

Gender equality is a cross-cutting issue taken into account in all project activities, especially through the review of all terms of reference by a public policy expert specialized in gender equality. This approach has enabled the incorporation of professional profiles with experience and knowledge in gender equality.

Additionally indicators have been established to measure the project's contribution to gender equality. Finally, several project activities directly target gender equality.

The activities aim to contribute to a more balanced representation of women in the economic sphere and decision-making processes, the economic empowerment of women  and the reduction of risks related to the increased vulnerability of women to climate change.

The project has achieved the following results:

• An action plan was developed to encourage women's participation in leadership positions and improve their financial inclusion.
• A study analyzing gender inequalities in the Mexican pension system was conducted. It identifies the key causes ranging from women's participation in the labor market and wage gaps to family care responsibilities and proposes public policies to improve women's situations.
• Four Risk Atlases were delivered for municipalities deemed priorities in terms of vulnerability to climate change in the states of Oaxaca (San Lucas Ojitlan, San José Independencia), Chiapas (Huehuetan, Villa Comaltitlan) and Quintana Roo (Lázaro Cárdenas) ;
• A study on the Fintech sector in Mexico was completed, leading to the formulation of public policy initiatives for the sector's regulation to promote financial inclusion, technological innovation in financial services, and to minimize potential risks arising from the digitalization of the sector.

The activities are still underway and include:

• Exchanges of experiences with the Banque de France on environmental, social and governance regulation, supervision, and dissemination.
• Studies on the barriers and opportunities for financial inclusion in Mexico, focusing on technological innovation in financial services (FINTECH) and popular finance (SOFINCO), and defining recommendations for better regulation of these two sectors.
• Organisation of a study visit to France to exchange best practices to promote female leadership in the financial sector and the financial inclusion of women.