Barbara Balke, Secretary General of the European Investment Bank, has been named a Top 50 Executive Ally by LGBT Great, an organisation that recognises senior leaders in financial services and business who have used their platform, influence and role to support the LGBTIQ community as a sponsor and ally.
Secretary General Balke remarked, “As the Bank of the European Union and as one of the biggest multilateral financial institutions in the world, we have a great responsibility to ensure that everyone, no matter their gender identity, expression, or sexual orientation, feels valued, respected and safe at work, within the EIB and working with the EIB. I am deeply honoured to have been chosen as one of the esteemed recipients of the Top 50 Executive Allies Award by LGBT Great. This recognition reinforces my commitment to actively supporting and promoting diversity and inclusion within the EIB and beyond.”
LGBT Great is an LGBTIQ membership community that lends insight and visibility, and runs outreach initiatives for the financial services industry. It serves as a platform where LGBTIQ people and their allies can connect, network and learn.
The Top 50 Executive Allies for 2023 were chosen for their role in developing safe environments where talent from all backgrounds feel supported and empowered. Nominated leaders demonstrated outstanding achievements and commitment to supporting and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion internally and externally.
LGBT Great’s goal is to encourage more authentic and deliberate acts of allyship and sponsorship towards LGBTIQ people everywhere, in the knowledge that the visibility of supportive leaders and organisations who champion LGBTIQ talent has a lasting real-world impact.
The announcement took place during world Pride Month, celebrated each year in June to honour the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan — a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. This time of year is an opportunity to engage with and better understand the LGBTIQ community, and to promote inclusion. The EIB Group will also join in the Luxembourg Pride Week celebrations between 1 and 9 July.
Learn more about diversity and inclusion at the EIB
