More than 123 Stock Exchanges and Central Counterparty Clearing (CCP) houses in 90 countries will 'Ring the Bell for Gender Equality 2023'
In celebration of International Women’s Day 2023, more than 123 stock exchanges and central counterparty clearing (CCP) houses around the world will support the ninth annual 'Ring the Bell for Gender Equality' (RTB) campaign to raise awareness about the role and opportunities for the private sector to advance gender equality and sustainable development.
For the ninth consecutive year, markets in 90 countries are planning to ring opening or closing bells to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023 – starting from 2 March 2023 and continuing until the end of the month.
The theme for International Women’s Day, observed on 8 March 2023 (IWD 2023) is, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”. This theme is aligned with the priority theme for the upcoming 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-67), “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.
The Ring the Bell for Gender Equality initiative is coordinated by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, UN Global Compact, UN Women and the World Federation of Exchanges.
Exchanges that have participated in the past nine years of ringing the bell for gender equality have made progress by promoting women’s access to finance and encouraging women to invest in public markets, developing new products, such as sustainability-linked bonds with gender criteria and gender bonds, signing and adopting the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), which offer guidance to businesses on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community and promoting gender equality listing criteria and gender data disclosure
As of February 2023, over 30 exchanges have signed the WEPs, are working to implement them internally and influence listed companies to commit to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.
In Jordan, the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), UN Women Jordan, and UN Global Compact Jordan (UNGCJ) jointly held an in-person RTB celebration on Monday, 13 March 2023, titled: DigitAll: Innovation and technology for gender equality: Ring the Bell Jordan 2023 In the presence of Her Excellency Kholoud Saqqaf, Minister of Investment to Jordan.
This conference-style panel discussions highlighted the links between gender equality, closing the digital gender gap and achieving sustainable development, recognized the contributions of women in the advancement of transformative technology and highlighted the challenges and costs of excluding women from the digital world. The first panel discussion titled, The Role of Women in Sustainability and Tech, was moderated by UNGC Jordan member, Ms. Natalie Na’was, Senior Sustainability Manager at Aramex and included speakers, Ms. Amira El Saeed, ESG Projects Manager - Middle East, Central Asia, and Turkey (MCT) at IFC, H.E. Dr. Maen Al Qatamin, Founder and Chairman at EntreViable, Mr. Safa Hijazeen, Executive Director of INJAZ Entrepreneurship, mySTARTUP Incubator at INJAZ, Ms. Sarah Tarawneh, CEO at Securities Depository Center and Ms. Sawsan Lubani, Founder & CEO at I ROLE.
The second panel discussion titled The Digital Gender Gap was moderated by Dr. Rasha Dayyat, Director, Planning and Institutional Development Department at the Amman Stock Exchange. Speakers included Mr. Nicolas Burniat, Representative, UN Women, Eng. Nidal Bitar, Chief Executive Officer of the ICT Association of Jordan – int@j, Ms. Rasha Atalla, CHRO at STS, Ms. Safa Sharif, HR Business Partner at Orange Jordan and Eng. Ali Noufal, Business Development Manager at Maysalward.
During the event, ASE invited listed companies to make a public commitment to the WEPs and promote gender equality listing criteria and gender data disclosure in sustainability reporting. ASE also shared the impactful steps it is taking to build more awareness within its network of listed and member companies by promoting and utilizing the WEPs, as a primary vehicle for corporate delivery on the gender equality dimensions of the 2030 agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The WEPs are a set of Principles offering guidance to businesses on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and community.
The CEO of the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), Mr. Mazen Wathaifi, reviewed ASE's efforts to spread a culture of sustainability and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) indicating that the ASE has joined the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) by signing a statement of support that are established by UN Global Compact and UN Women, comes within the framework of the stock exchange’s policy related to its commitment to the principles of sustainability and its absolute belief in empowering women, enhancing their position in society and involving them in decision-making processes, achieving leadership positions in institutions, and creating equal opportunities for both genders. In addition to encouraging its members, listed companies, and all related parties to sign the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) to stimulate women's participation in the global economy, promote sustainable development and empower women in the workplace, market and society.
“Technology and innovation offer new pathways towards women’s economic empowerment under the Government’s Economic Modernization Vision. An inclusive digital economy which enables greater access and affordability, online safety, and digital education opportunities, is essential for advancing gender equality in the labour market. UN Women is committed to working with the private sector to close the digital gender divide and address the inherent biases, harmful social norms and negative gender stereotypes which prevent women from fully participating in and benefitting from the digital transformation,” said Mr. Nicolas Burniat, Representative of UN Women in Jordan.
The full list of exchanges and CCPs can be found here. For more information, please contact the Amman Stock Exchange.
Notes to Editors
About the Partner Organizations:
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2021, IFC committed a record $31.5 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit www.ifc.org. Follow us on Twitter: @IFC_org or any of our other social media platforms: www.ifc.org/SocialMediaIndex
The Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative
The SSE initiative is a peer-to-peer learning platform for exploring how exchanges, in collaboration with investors, regulators, and companies, can enhance corporate transparency - and ultimately performance - on ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) issues and encourage sustainable investment. The SSE initiative is convened by four organizations - the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN Global Compact, the UN Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). To learn more about becoming a Partner Stock Exchange or participating as a regulator or investor, visit sseinitiative.org Follow us on Twitter: @sseinitiative
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
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 and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality, and in all deliberations and agreements linked to the 2030 Agenda. The entity works to position gender equality as fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals, and a more inclusive world. To learn more about our work, please visit: https://www.unwomen.org/, https://jordan.unwomen.org/, or follow us on social media @UN_Women, @unwomenjordan.
United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)
As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With more than 15,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and 69 Local Networks, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative — one Global Compact uniting business for a better world. For more information, follow @globalcompact on social media and visit our website at unglobalcompact.org.
The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE)
Established in 1961, the WFE is the global industry association for exchanges and clearing houses. Headquartered in London, it represents over 250 market infrastructure providers with 35% are in Asia-Pacific, 45% in EMEA and 20% in the Americas. WFE’s 57 member CCPs collectively ensure that risk takers post some $1 trillion (equivalent) of resources to back their positions, in the form of initial margin and default fund requirements. WFE exchanges are home to 47,919 listed companies, and the market capitalisation of these entities is over $109 trillion; around $137 trillion (EOB) in trading annually passes through WFE members (at end 2020). Its statistics database stretches back more than 40 years and provides information and insight into developments on global exchanges. The WFE works with standard-setters, policy makers, regulators, and government organisations around the world to support and promote the development of fair, transparent, stable, and efficient markets. Click here to view the WFE’s website, sign up for the industry’s Focus magazine or to visit the WFE on LinkedIn. Follow us on Twitter: @TheWFE
