I. WOMEN HELPING WOMEN ACROSS BORDERS AT THE GLOBAL SUMMIT OF WOMEN
II. MEN LEADING DIVERSITY: THE BUSINESS CASE
III. MEET THE NEW VICE PRESIDENT OF ZAMBIA
IV. NEW MCKINSEY REPORT: ‘DIVERSITY DIVIDEND’ AT WORK

I. WOMEN HELPING WOMEN ACROSS BORDERS AT THE GLOBAL SUMMIT OF WOMEN

Sao Paolo, Brazil will play host to the 2015 Global Summit of Women, which will be celebrating its 25th anniversary on May 14-16th as a cross-border business/economic forum which features solutions and strategies that advance women’s economic status worldwide. While in its quarter-century history, the Summit has been useful to participants as a platform from which to form business alliances with colleagues from other economies or to gain new ideas for advancing themselves and others in their own countries or their companies, this global gathering has also connected women’s needs with resources.

MCM – a luxury leather goods company with a worldwide presence – is headed by Sungjoo Kim, who is a Summit ‘veteran’ and a key member of its Advisory Board. At the 2014 Summit in Paris, she met with Kosovo’s President Atifete Jahjaga and shared their countries’ experiences with bitter wars that left women damaged physically and psychologically. As a result of this dialogue, 50,000 euros (approx. US$65,000) was donated by the Sungjoo Foundation to the Kosovo Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims, specifically for a project entitled “Empowering Women Victims of Sexual Violence and Torture during the Conflict in Kosovo.”

President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga and Sungjoo Group Chairperson Sung Joo Kim at the 2014 Global Summit of Women

Through the advice of another Summit ‘veteran’, former Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Delia Domingo Albert, Ms. Kim recently donated funds for victims of the Haiyan typhoon which devastated a large central area of the country. Similarly, Sungjoo Foundation helped to launch Japan’s “Women Help Women” – an organization focused on the economic rehabilitation of women in the earthquake stricken area and developed by long-time Summit delegates from Japan, Ann Sado and Haruko Nishida.

The Global Summit itself has a history of giving that include donations to organizations as diverse as the World Food Program for disaster victims in various countries, the All-China Women’s Federation, the UN Girl Fund, and various Ministerial projects that advance women and girls. So, while its focus is women’s economic empowerment, the Summit also fosters a climate where women of achievement like Sungjoo Kim reach out across borders to help other women. (To view the Summit program and to register, please log on to www.globewomen.org/globalsummit.)

II. MEN LEADING DIVERSITY: THE BUSINESS CASE

Women giving a leg up to other women may be its focus, but under the principle that ‘gender parity is not just a women’s issue’, the Global Summit of Women inaugurated a male CEO Forum at its gathering in Paris in 2014. Well, a similar group of male corporate leaders will be engaged in a continuing dialogue on what CEOs can do to accelerate women’s access to leadership roles, the impact on a company’s financial performance when there are more women senior executives and board directors, and what their respective companies have done that has worked in moving the needle on these issues at the 2015 Summit to be held in Sao Paolo from May 14-16th.

Male CEO Forum Panelists (from left to right): Ardila, Haradom, Legher, Navarro, Novitsky, Townsend, and Urruticoechea

Joining this CEO Forum at the Brazil Summit are Jaime Ardila, President of General Motors Latin America from Colombia; Michael Haradom, President of Fersol in Brazil; David Legher, President of Avon Brazil & Southern Region; Edgardo Navarro, President of McDonald’s Latin America; Adriano Novitsky, President of Technip Brazil; Chris Townsend, President of MetLife Asia; and Juan Pablo Urruticoechea, CEO of Sodexo Brazil. “Latin American businesswomen often tell me that ‘machismo’ is so pervasive in their culture that it inhibits their access to leadership roles in many organizations, so I invited male leaders primarily from this region, who are leading efforts to create a more level playing field for women in their respective companies,” states Summit President Irene Natividad.

III. MEET THE NEW VICE PRESIDENT OF ZAMBIA

Out of 11 women Presidents globally, two come from Africa — Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Catherine Samba-Panzo of the Central African Republic. The region now boasts not a new President, but a newly-appointed Vice President in Inonge Mutukwa Wina, whose ascension results in a total of 8 women serving in this role in different parts of the world. Elected to Parliament in 2001, Vice President Wina was a long-time activist for women who headed up various non-governmental organizations like the YWCA, where she promoted a women’s human rights agenda and the establishment of the Women’s Support Unit in the Zambian Police Service.

President of Zambia Edgar Lungu congratulates newly-appointed Vice President Inonge Wina     (Photo courtesy of Lusaka Times, 1/25/15)

Her ensuing political career resulted in her leadership of various committees and leadership of her party. Under the administration of the late President Michael Sata, she served as Minister of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs. Later, she was moved to become Minister of Gender and Child Development, an agency promoted to a full Ministry. During the past election season, she became Chair of the Patriotic Front Party, now the ruling party in Zambia. On January 26, 2015, she was appointed and sworn in as Zambia’s new Vice President, the first woman to serve in this role in her country. (Source: Lusaka Times, 1/26/15)

To see what other women are holding top posts globally, visit www.globewomen.com

IV. NEW MCKINSEY REPORT: ‘DIVERSITY DIVIDEND’ AT WORK

There is now an ever-expanding set of studies that show the financial bottom line impact of gender diversity and diversity as a whole. A 2007 McKinsey study that showed better financial performance in companies where women are in greater numbers in senior executive and board director roles has been repeated and much quoted in the ensuing years by researchers and business leaders alike. In a new edition of their study called “Diversity Matters”, McKinsey found fresh data showing again that diverse companies perform better financially, are able to win top talent, and are best able to improve customer orientation, employee satisfaction and decision-making.

The new study looked at 366 large public companies primarily in the Americas — U.S., Canada, U.K., Brazil, Mexico, and Chile — and examined the gender diversity and ethnic/racial diversity on the boards and senior management of those companies during a three-year period. Those at the top end with greater diversity saw 30% higher financial returns than their peers, while those at the lower end were less likely to achieve above-average returns. The study findings imply that diversity is a competitive differentiator that shifts market share to more diverse companies. The researchers note that “most organizations have work to do in taking full advantage of the opportunity that a more diverse leadership team represents, but given the increasing returns that diversity is expected to bring, it is better to invest now, as winners will pull further ahead and laggards will fall further behind.” (Source: Joann Lublin, “New Report Finds a ‘Diversity Dividend’ at Work,” Wall Street Journal, 1/20/15)

Don’t miss the
2015 Global Summit of Women
Sao Paulo, Brazil

Sao Paulo’s famous Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge.

France’s Minister for Women, Cities, Youth, and Sports Najat Vallaud-Belkacem hands over the Summit to Brazilian delegates at the Closing Ceremony of the 2014 Summit in Paris.

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WWW.GLOBEWOMEN.ORG/GLOBALSUMMIT