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Ring the Bell for Gender Equality

For the ninth time, stock exchanges from around the world took in “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” event. To mark the International Women’s Day, on 8 March at 9.00 am, the bell in the Quotation Room of the Warsaw Stock Exchange rang to draw attention to the issue of inequality of women and men in the labour market and in society.   

During this year’s edition, the symbolic ringing of the stock exchange bell will sound throughout the entire month of March at over 100 stock exchanges around the world. In Poland, the “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” event was organized by UN Global Compact Network Poland and the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Fearless Girl

The Polish edition of Ring the Bell for Gender Equality enjoyed unique setting this year. A replica of the famous Fearless Girl® sculpture in New York and sculpted by Kristen Visbal was presented during the event to represent the importance of gender diversity in corporate leadership and in the financial services industry.

Commissioned by State Street Global Advisors and created by sculptor Kristen Visbal, Fearless Girl was originally installed on Wall Street on the eve of International Women’s Day 2017, accompanied by a call on the companies in which State Street Global Advisors invests to increase the number of women on their corporate boards. She moved to her new home in 2018 in front of the New York Stock Exchange — continuing to inspire people around the world.

As part of the partnership between the Warsaw Stock Exchange and State Street Global Advisors Poland, a replica of the Fearless Girl sculpture arrived in Poland and was presented during the Ring the Bell event.

DigitAll: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality

The leading theme of this year’s edition of Ring the Bell for Gender Equality was “DigitAll: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality”. It referred to the priority theme of the sixty-seventh session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-67), to take place in New York from 6 to 17 March 2023. Innovation and technological change and good quality education in the digital age may considerably contribute to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Such measures contribute to elimination of digital exclusion, increase mobility and opportunities on the labour market and, through appropriate policies and actions for gender gap elimination, give women a chance to develop in areas stereotypically considered to be male-dominated.

“195 countries are members of the UN General Assembly, out of which only 60 have a democratic legal system with a constitutionally guaranteed gender equality. There is no such thing in the other countries. This broader perspective enables us to become aware of the multitudes of challenges that we are facing and of the importance of actions aimed at safeguarding equality” - said Kamil Wyszkowski, Representative, Executive Director UN Global Compact Network Poland

SDG 5 (gender equality) is one of UN Global Compact priority goals since the initiative was announced by UN Secretary-General, and all measures intended to eliminate the gender gap have been crucial for building sustainable future and have been enshrined in the mission and the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact.

“We no longer have time to convince the world of the validity of equality and the important role of women in every aspect of life. In order for women and men to have the same opportunities, it is essential to start acting and actively combat discrimination against women in every area – public, social and political. On the path to equality, business plays a particularly important role - it assumes responsibility for social, cultural and civilisational changes, including in the field of gender equality” - said Anna Potocka-Domin, Director of the Business and Human Rights Programme of the UN Global Compact Network Poland, which conducts actions for equality in Poland.

In her speech, Izabela Olszewska, Member of the Management Board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, underlined the issue of low participation of women in the management boards of public companies and in supervisory boards – “The Warsaw Stock Exchange, as a key player in the capital market, has been involved in activities related to social issues for many years, including those related to the subject of diversity. This is particularly important for sustainable development and economic growth. Diversity extends the powers of the company’s governing bodies, which makes it possible to look more broadly at the environment in which the company operates. Furthermore, the possibility of identifying opportunities and risks for the company is growing. According to our research, women’s participation in the management boards of public companies oscillates around 12-13% and when it comes to the supervisory boards, the figure is around 18-20%. Thus, there is still a lot to be done. Ring the Bell for Gender Equality initiative fits perfectly in the educational and promotional actions we undertake with a view to safeguarding diversity and gender equality.”

Every year, “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” brings together representatives of international organizations, embassies and regional and national CEOs.  

Discussions and speeches during this year’s edition were addressed issues such as:  

• Work-life-balance directive for gender equality
• Gender equality - a global perspective
• Innovative leadership for gender equality
• Gender pay gap
• Innovative actions for gender equality
• Women for innovation  

“Equal participation of women in the labour market is beneficial for all. It is not only about values - justice and equal rights - but also about the measurable added value of women’s presence in social and economic life” - said the event’s special guest – Ann Prendergast, CEO State Street Global Advisors Europe Limited.

Studies clearly show the benefits of including women in management and decision-making processes – eliminating gender discrimination can increase productivity by up to 40%.

In her speech, Barbara Socha, Government Plenipotentiary for Demographic Policy, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Family and Social Policy, emphasised the history of introducing equality in Poland – “We are a European country in which women’s rights have always been respected. The Polish women were one of the first among the nations who received electoral rights after regaining independence in 1918. In many aspects, the Polish women are very strong, entrepreneurial and ambitious.”

Päivi Laine, the Finnish Ambassador to Poland, told the assembly about the important role of women in Finland’s history – “Gender equality is a very important factor in Finland’s history. From the poor country torn by a civil war at the beginning of the previous century, we have become the world’s happiest nation. We are a small nation and we have always had to count on everyone. We cannot exclude half of the society from the labour market and deprive them of social rights and obligations. Gender equality is one of the key themes of Finland’s development and foreign policy.”

Once again, the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) joined the global group of stock exchanges which support activities for equality and diversity in business.  

The global initiators of the event include: United Nations Global Compact, UN Women, the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, International Finance Corporation, the World Federation of Exchanges and Women in ETFs.  

Recorded broadcast of the Ring the Bell for Gender Equality 2023: link.

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Contact details for the media: 

Aleksandra Tuszyńska
UN Global Compact Network Poland

tel. 726 080 460

Nina Vincenz-Krajewska
The Warsaw Stock Exchange
 
mobile +48 785 869 123

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LinkedIn: global+compact+poland+network   warsaw+stock+exchange 

About the partners:  

UN Global Compact – the world’s largest initiative of business sector representatives promoting sustainable development. Since its announcement in 2000 by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, over 21,000 members from over 160 countries have joined the Initiative. www.unglobalcompact.org
Twitter: @globalcompact  

UN Global Compact Network Poland – a national office and a local contact and information point for the Polish members of the United Nations Global Compact – the UN Secretary-General’s corporate sustainability initiative for sustainable development. It carries out its mission through activities under three umbrella programmes: Climate Positive, Business and Human Rights, Anti-corruption Programme and United Business for Ukraine.
The UN Global Compact Network Poland also coordinates cooperation with the Government of Poland, representatives of local government and other UN agendas and programmes based in Poland or operating within the territory of Poland, supporting the efforts of the UN Global Compact headquarters to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. www.ungc.org.pl
Twitter: @globalcompactPL 

The WSE Group operates trading platforms for stocks, treasury and corporate bonds, derivatives, electricity, and natural gas, and provides market indices and benchmarks, including WIBID and WIBOR. In 2018, FTSE Russell rated the Polish capital market among developed markets. The markets operated by the WSE Group are the largest markets in Central and Eastern Europe. For more information, please visit www.gpw.pl
Twitter: @GPW_WSExchange  

UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented. 
http://www.unwomen.org and https://www.empowerwomen.org/en/weps/about
Twitter @UN_Women @Empower_Women  

Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative – The SSE initiative is a peer-to-peer learning platform for exploring how exchanges, in collaboration with investors, regulators, and companies, can enhance sustainable investment and corporate transparency. sseinitiative.org
Twitter:    

IFC – IFC, a member of the World Bank, is the largest institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. In 2016, long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $19 billion, leveraging the capital, expertise and influence to help the private sector end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. www.ifc.org
Twitter:    

World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) – WFE  – founded in 1961, the organization brings together the most developed stock exchanges in the world. Since 1994, the Warsaw Stock Exchange has been one of the members of the organization. WFE promotes development of fair, effective and transparent markets. It works with legislators around the world to support standards for stock exchanges and market participants.   

Women in ETFs is the first women’s group for the ETF industry. Founded in January 2014, WE is a non-profit organization that brings together over 2,500 members, including women and men, in chapters in major financial centres across the United States, Canada, EMEA and Asia Pacific to further the careers of women by leveraging collective skill and ambition. www.womeninetfs.com
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