Two years after achieving Level 1 Assess of the EDGE certification process, the African Development Bank has attained Level 2, in further recognition of its commitment to monitoring, benchmarking, and achieving gender parity in its workforce. These rapid developments reflect the Bank's ongoing and sustained efforts to prioritize gender.
EDGE is the world's leading certification that measures gender equity in the workplace. The Bank began the EDGE certification process in 2022. In 2019, 83% of the executive workforce at the African Development Bank was men. By 2023, when the Bank was certified at EDGE Level 1, the ratio of women in senior leadership had increased from 17% to 25%, and the gender ratio within the Young Professionals population had risen from 20% to 65% in favour of women. In 2024, the gender parity at the vice president level increased to 45% - the highest to date in the Bank's history.
The Bank has set a goal for reaching 50/50 gender parity across its workforce by 2030.
EDGE Level 2 recognizes the African Development Bank's work in implementing gender equality and an inclusive environment where every employee's voice is valued and heard. Certified at EDGE, PLUS, the Bank further commits to maintaining and multigenerational and geographically diverse workforce.
African Development Bank Vice President for People and Talent Management Jacques Edjangue noted :
"Achieving EDGE PLUS Level 2 Certification is a proud milestone for the African Development Bank. It reflects our unwavering commitment to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. This recognition not only affirms our progress in advancing gender equity, but it also acknowledges our broader efforts to integrate age and geographical diversity as key dimensions of inclusion. It also reinforces our commitment to continuously foster an enabling environment where every talent can thrive, and every voice can be heard".
Under EDGE Assess level 1, the African Development Bank Group committed to an action plan documenting how it would accelerate progress across the four pillars of the EDGE Standards and close any gaps identified. The four pillars are: representation, pay, policies and practices for equitable career flows, and inclusiveness.
Aniela Unguresan, Founder of EDGE Certified Foundation, said: "The African Development Bank's achievement of EDGE Move and EDGEplus Certification reflects its steady commitment to diversity, fairness, and inclusion. This milestone is not just a mark of institutional progress - it is the result of intentional leadership that aligns with the Bank's Ten-Year Strategy to build a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient Africa."
She added: "In just two years since the African Development Bank's initial certification at the EDGE Assess level, women's representation in the Young Professionals program and Vice President roles is at parity with men - an important achievement on the path to the Bank's 2028 goal of gender parity across its workforce. Moreover, the African Development Bank has now created a solid infrastructure of policies and practices to ensure fair career opportunities for all and is proactively managing gender pay equity."
