WE rings The Opening Bell in 2016 at the NYSE along with representatives of BNY, UN, IFC.
For the 3rd year, a global collaboration across 43 stock exchanges around the world plan to “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality,” to celebrate International Women’s Day 2017 (March 8th).
The events are a partnership between Women in ETFs, UN Global Compact, UN Women, the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, IFC, and the World Federation of Stock Exchanges, to raise awareness about the business case for women’s economic empowerment and the opportunities for the private sector to advance gender equality and sustainable development.
A new report to be published on March 6th by the UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative with GIZ*, highlights how exchanges and businesses can and are advancing gender equality. It cites a number of imperative challenges:
- women take home 1/10 of global income, while accounting for 2/3 of global working hours; and
- according to a 2016 review of 1,000 listed companies by Bloomberg, the average representation of women in the leadership was 23% in senior management, 21% on boards, 4% have a female chairperson, and 3% have a female CEO.
However, there is evidence of a business case:
- female representation in leadership has shown to improve performance metrics such as ROA, ROE, and EPS while reducing volatility;
- if better served, women-owned small businesses could add around $285 billion to the global economy; and
- the global economy could be up to $28 trillion larger in 2025 if gender gaps were eliminated.
Jill Mavro, co-President of WE and Senior Managing Director, SSgA SPDR, explained: “There is a natural synergy for WE to celebrate International Women’s Day. Our mission is to further the careers of women today by leveraging our collective skill and ambition.”
Diana Tidd, co-President of WE and Head of Index at MSCI, added: “Gender equality is central to driving the global economy and the private sector has an important role to play.”
Out of the 43 bell ringing celebrations taking place globally from March 2nd – 10th, Women in ETFs is the lead partner on 17 Bell Ringing events that will welcome WE leadership teams, corporate sponsors, and members, with host speakers presenting the business case for women’s economic empowerment.
Deborah Fuhr, External Liaison for WE, Founder of WE and Managing Partner of ETFGI, commented: “It is facts like these that brought together a global movement.
Women in ETFs has gathered over 2,600 members (women and men) in chapters in financial centers in the US, Canada, EMEA, and Asia Pacific, and has received the support of many industry participants. WE is looking forward to continuing to expanding their organisation via various events and dedicated initiatives in new countries.