Today is International Women’s Day and to celebrate, Women in ETFs (WE) will be ringing the bells at stock exchanges around the world.
WE will lead 15 of the 34 stock exchange bell ringings. The organization will also host speakers to present the business case for women’s economic empowerment.
This is the second year in a row Women in ETFs will be ringing stock exchange bells for International Women’s Day.
The organization is partnering with five other organizations in a growing momentum behind gender equality: UN Global Compact, UN Women, the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, IFC, and the World Federation of Stock Exchanges.
Their aim of “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” is 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.
Joanne Hill, Co-Founder and Co-President of WE and Head of Institutional Investment Strategy at ProShares, said there was a natural synergy for WE to celebrate International Women’s Day.
“Stock exchanges are a key industry partner in the Exchange Traded Fund industry globally with whom WE and its members maintain strong ongoing relationships in our chapters around the globe,” Hill said. “Stock exchanges provide a natural high-visibility platform in which to amplify the gender equality message.”
Deborah Fuhr, Co-Founder of WE and Managing Partner of ETFGI, said studies such as the new survey by the Peterson Institute for International Economics of 21,980 publicly traded companies in 91 countries demonstrates that the presence of more female leaders in top positions of corporate management correlates with increased profitability of these companies.
Jill Mavro Co-President of WE, Senior Managing Director at State Street Global Advisors, says Stock exchanges can play a vital role by encouraging gender diversity on the boards and in the management of listed companies, and ensuring accessibility of capital market services to women-owned businesses and female entrepreneurs.