MIGA to Present Gender Leadership Award to Meridiam’s Ginette Borduas

Washington, March 6, 2024 – The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency of the World Bank Group (MIGA) will present its 9th annual Gender Leadership Award to Ginette Borduas, Partner and Head of ESG & Sustainability at Meridiam, at a special event at World Bank headquarters on Friday, March 8. The award is presented annually on International Women’s Day.  

Established in 2016, the MIGA Gender Leadership Award recognizes senior leaders who have a proven track record of advancing gender equality in businesses while contributing to the mission of the World Bank Group to end extreme poverty and boost prosperity on a livable planet.   

Ms. Borduas joined Meridiam in 2016 to spearhead the company’s sustainable development approach and further developed its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) procedures. In her 35 years of experience in ESG and optimizing the sustainability of large-scale infrastructure assets, she has worked in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Canada. Ms. Borduas leverages a participatory and collaborative approach on every project, engaging early with all stakeholders, including community representatives. Her extensive expertise in implementing and monitoring sustainability principles contributed to positively impact Meridiam’s large-scale infrastructure projects.  

“Ginette Borduas is an inspirational leader who has successfully delivered resilient infrastructure for communities while integrating ESG principles into Meridiam’s mission and business,” said Hiroshi Matano, MIGA Executive Vice President. “MIGA is excited to spotlight and collaborate with leaders like Ms. Borduas to further our commitment to expand opportunities for women worldwide.”   

Under Ms. Borduas’ leadership, Meridiam has developed new and innovative indicators to track and monitor the impact of every project of the firm from the construction site to the boardroom. Diversity at large, and gender equality more specifically, is one of Meridiam sustainability and strategic pillars since 2020. And its concrete contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Goals is measured and reported in its annual impact reports. Following Meridiam’s longstanding mission and its CEO’s vision regarding ESG and impact, she strives to contribute to Meridiam dedication toward a true balance between maximizing effectiveness and minimizing environmental and social impact of large-scale transformational infrastructure projects. Ms. Borduas makes sure women’s concerns and needs are included in all project design so they can benefit from the socioeconomic and environmental benefits generated by them.    

“I am particularly honored to receive the 2024 MIGA Gender Leadership Award on International Women’s Day and dedicate it to all people and women especially who make things change and contribute to advance the diversity issue,” said Ms. Borduas. “We have done a lot to advance gender equality, and even more globally about diversity and sustainability. These commitments are a part of Meridiam’s mission, DNA and business philosophy since inception. But we still have, both at the society and company level, a lot of work ahead. We should not relax our efforts collectively and individually to achieve gender equality by 2030.” 

According to the latest UN Women report, over 342 million women and girls live in extreme poverty of less than $2.15 a day. If the current trend continues, more women and girls in Sub-Saharan Africa will live in extreme poverty by 2030 than today. A recent report by the World Bank Group states that the global gender gap for women’s economic opportunities is significantly wider than previously thought. Despite significant progress in enacting laws to provide equal opportunity for women, half of humanity—3.9 billion women worldwide—face gender-based legal barriers affecting their economic participation. 

Founded in 2005, Meridiam is an independent investment Benefit Corporation and an asset manager specializing in the development, financing and long-term management of sustainable public infrastructure in three core sectors: sustainable mobility, critical public services and innovative low carbon solution across Europe, North America, and Africa. It is one of MIGA’s largest clients, with 11 active projects. 

The 2024 Gender Leadership Award event will be live streamed at https://live.worldbank.org/en/event/2024/9th-miga-gender-leadership-award-shift-to-green-and-caring-economy on Friday, March 8 from 10 to 11 AM ET and will be available for replay at the same address. For more information about the award, please visit: https://www.miga.org/event/9th-annual-miga-gender-leadership-award-shift-green-and-caring-economy.   

About MIGA 

MIGA was created in 1988 as a member of the World Bank to promote foreign direct investment in emerging economies by helping to mitigate the risks of restrictions on currency conversion and transfer, breach of contract by governments, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance; and offering credit enhancement to private investors and lenders. Since its creation, MIGA has issued over $76 billion in guarantees across 123 developing countries, supporting more than 1,000 projects. Over the past decade, MIGA’s guarantees have generated more than 156,000 jobs in developing countries. 

Contact:  

In Washington:  

Elizabeth Howton, (202) 458-5922, ehowton@worldbankgroup.org   

For more information, please visit: https://www.miga.org  

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