the eurosystem continues to play an active role in the payment industry by providing – in the form of target2, which went live just last week on 19 november – borderless core infrastructure for real - time settlement in central bank money. 1 further support for the single market will come from the streamlining of collateral management systems through the ccbm2 ( collateral central bank management ) project. t2s will build on the newly released target2 system and bring payments associated with securities settlement together with pure cash settlements across the european union. the lisbon agenda clearly demonstrates that not only must europe do better, it can do better. we can say that we want europe to be the best and most secure place to issue and trade securities and that we want it to be the most competitive economy in the world. however, europe lacks a common post - trade “ plumbing ” system, whereas the united states target2 went live on 19 november for the eight countries ( austria, cyprus, germany, latvia, lithuania, luxemburg, malta and slovenia ) in the first wave. created such a system years ago. t2s joins other european initiatives, such as the code of conduct and the markets in financial instruments directive ( mifid ), in helping to fulfil the objectives set out by the lisbon agenda for the provision of better services to issuers and investors. we firmly believe that t2s will speed up market integration and foster competition. the t2s settlement system will act as a driver to promote harmonisation within the european securities industry, creating opportunities for cost savings and allowing market participants to select and choose post - trade partners irrespective of their location within the single market. the impact of t2s on harmonisation is already being felt, building on valuable work by the csds. the icsds ’ experience in bringing together several national csds has created valuable impetus in this respect. the next speaker will also contribute to this debate by highlighting the advantages of such harmonisation. the eurosystem, inter alia through the t2s project, will play a leading role in working with market participants to harmonise market practices at the european level for the benefit of those participants. this work is likely to remove even more barriers of the kind already identified by the giovannini group, as well as helping users to identify the irreducible costs of unresolved barriers in the new efficient borderless settlement environment. this work will also increase the pressure for swift action to harmon

jerome h powell : opening remarks opening remarks by mr jerome h powell, chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the gender and the economy conference, a symposium hosted by the division of consumer and community affairs, board of governors of the federal reserve system, washington, d. c., ( via webcast ), 8 november 2021. * * * good morning. i am pleased to welcome everyone to today ’ s conference on gender and the economy. thank you for being here, for participating, and for lending your expertise on this important topic. we have gathered an impressive lineup of speakers and panelists, who will address a range of timely and important issues. to open the conference, i will give a brief tour of the important research on display here, then discuss how the pandemic has affected the economy along gender lines. research the speakers and panelists will be exploring a wide range of topics, from a historical review of gender issues and the economy to how someone ’ s education options — and the financing of those choices — affect that person ’ s early career and financial stability. speakers and panelists will also be looking at the influence of family and caregiving on career advancement and will discuss timely topics of wealth and retirement. the pandemic and gender the pandemic widened deep - rooted inequities in our economy. along racial, gender, and socioeconomic lines, those least able to bear it, unfortunately, were those who were most affected. women make up the majority of frontline workers, who have been under substantial strain — and subject to personal risks — during the pandemic. additionally, women took on the majority of caring responsibilities, for older relatives and children alike. as schools closed and childcare services shuttered during the worst of the pandemic, that added responsibility and stress made working more difficult for some and took many away from their jobs. these burdens are real and have been an additional challenge during an already challenging time. in a reversal of previous recessions, women suffered more from job losses in the covid - 19 recession than men. in april 2020, the unemployment rate for women was 16. 1 percent, compared with 13. 6 percent for men. the gap persisted until september of that year, and while it has since reversed, it does not account for the many women who left the workforce entirely. 1 increased childcare responsibilities during the pandemic also affected many parents ’ working lives. mothers of small children