No. CCXXIII; October 26, 2018
THIS ISSUE’S HIGHLIGHTS:

I. SWITZERLAND TO HOST 2019 GLOBAL SUMMIT OF WOMEN

II. WOMEN LEADING STOCK EXCHANGES

III. ETHIOPIA, LATEST GOVERNMENT WITH 50% FEMALE CABINET, APPOINTS WOMAN PRESIDENT

IV. DESPITE COMPANY TALK, PROGRESS FOR U.S. WOMEN IN WORKPLACE STALLED

1. SWITZERLAND TO HOST 2019 GLOBAL SUMMIT OF WOMEN

Women government leaders, senior executives and entrepreneurs from around the world are marking July 4-6, 2019 on their calendars as the date of the 2019 Global Summit of Women in Basel, Switzerland.  The premier global business and economic forum for women for the past 29 years, the Summit looks forward to bringing over 1,000 influential leaders in business and government from 60+ countries to Switzerland, world-renowned not only for its beauty but also for its formidable financial and healthcare centers.

Switzerland, with a wealth of women business achievers in different capacities, serves as an apt venue for the Global Summit of Women and its focus on promoting women’s economic advancement.  Topping several Quality of Life surveys and ranked second in the 2018 UNDP Human Development Report, Switzerland is especially suited to the theme of the 2019 Summit – Women: Re-Defining Success, which explores the ways in which access to equitable pay, leadership roles, and the ability to have ‘success’ at home as well as at work comprise women’s sense of well-being as economic stakeholders.  Switzerland has pending pay equity legislation for consideration by its Parliament as well as a quota law for women on boards.

“We are so pleased to bring the 2019 Global Summit of Women to Switzerland, specifically to Basel, given its role not just as an art center but also the headquarters for some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical/healthcare/biotech companies.  “I know that women traveling to Basel for the Summit will find it welcoming and an inviting location to make contacts with Swiss businesswomen eager to connect with their global counterparts.”

Women and men interested in being a part of this engaging, solutions-oriented gathering of high caliber participants are invited to come to Basel to take part in the information-sharing, skills-building and global networking which have made the Global Summit of Women the leading forum for women in business globally.

To hear a welcome from the Head of Basel’s of International Affairs, click the video above.

Registration for the 2019 Summit is now open. For more information on the 2019 Summit and to reserve your space in this global gathering, go to www.globewomen.org/globalsummit.   _______________________________________________________________________

2. WOMEN LEADING STOCK EXCHANGES

Although women currently lead the two major stock exchanges in the U.S. (NASDAQ CEO Adena Friedman and New York Stock Exchange President Stacy Cunningham), very few women are in charge of stock exchanges around the world.  With fewer than 10 women heading up major exchanges, it is still rare to have a woman at the helm of these leading financial organizations .

At the 2019 Global Summit of Women in Basel on July 4-6, 2019, participants will be fortunate to meet and to hear from three current women stock exchange CEOs.  Joining the panel “State of Global Markets: Perspectives of Stock Exchange CEOs” will be CEO of the Oslo Stock Exchange Bente Landsnes, CEO of the Zagreb (Croatia) Stock Exchange Ivana Gazic, and CEO of Mexico’s Bolsa Institucional de Valores Maria Ariza, the first woman to head up a stock exchange in Mexico’s history.

In a discussion to be led by Marisa Drew, CEO of the Impact Advisory and Finance Department at Credit Suisse, each CEO will share her professional journey to their current leadership role, the nature of their work and how it differs from other corporate CEOs, and their views as to the current state of the markets in their respective regions.  Their perspectives on the role of stock exchanges in impacting corporate governance will also be discussed.

To hear from these financial leaders, register today for the 2019 Global Summit of Women in Basel at www.globewomen.org/globalsummit.

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3. ETHIOPIA, LATEST GOVERNMENT WITH 50% FEMALE CABINET, APPOINTS WOMAN PRESIDENT

One week after joining the elite group of countries with gender parity in their ministerial cabinets, Ethiopia has elected a woman President, Sahle-Work Zewde.  A former diplomat who served as the United Nations Special Representative to the African Union, President Zewde joins the Prime Minister of Namibia Saara Kuugongela Amadhila as the only women currently leading governments in Africa.

Following Ethiopia’s lead in announcing a 50-50 gender split among Cabinet members, Rwanda, a global leader with the highest percentage of women in Parliament at 62%, also announced that its Cabinet would be gender-balanced.  Ethiopia and Rwanda join Canada, France, Spain, Mexico, Colombia and the Seychelles in having equal representation of men and women in their Cabinet.

According to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the global average for women government ministers is 18.3% and over 10 countries have no women cabinet members at all.  Of the women ministers in office worldwide, the vast majority hold posts that oversee social issues, while far fewer serve as Ministers for Justice, Finance, Defense or similar portfolios.  In their recent announcements, Ethiopia and Rwanda granted several top positions to women.  Ethiopia’s new Ministers of Defense and Peace, as well as Rwanda’s new Ministers of Trade and Economic Planning, are women.

In making their appointments, both Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda remarked that they believed women would improve the effectiveness of the cabinet.  Prime Minister Abiy said that women would help battle corruption and bring accountability, while Kagame noted that a higher number of women in decision-making roles have led to a decrease in gender discrimination and gender-based crimes.  (Washington Post, “Ethiopia Appoints First Female Leader in its History,” October 25, 2018)

To see a listing of all current women Presidents and Prime Ministers, click here .

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4. DESPITE TALK, PROGRESS FOR U.S. WOMEN IN WORKPLACE STALLED

According to a new report on “Women in the Workplace” from McKinsey & Company, women in the U.S. still face significant barriers at work, and progress has been painstakingly slow, even though many companies state how committed they are to gender equity in the workplace.  McKinsey strongly urged companies to treat gender diversity as a top business imperative by setting targets to hold managers accountable in order to reduce critical gender disparities.

The report states that progress needs to be made in improving the pipeline of women into companies both in terms of hiring and promotions.  Although women earn more bachelor’s degrees than men, they are less likely to be hired into entry-level jobs.  The disparity widens at each step, as women are also less likely to be hired into manager-level jobs and far less likely to be promoted into them. For every 100 men promoted to manager, 79 women are.  As a result, men hold 62% of manager positions while women hold only 38%.

To help create a more inclusive environment for women in the workplace, companies should also make senior leaders and managers champions for diversity.  Among workers surveyed for this report, only 39% of women and 47% of men say that gender diversity is a high priority for their manager.  Moreover, less than a third say that managers often challenge biased language and behavior when they see it.  McKinsey warns that until leaders at all levels understand the problem, are trained to help solve it, and are held accountable for making progress, it will be difficult to achieve lasting change. (“Women in the Workplace 2018: Women are Doing Their Part. Now Companies Need to do Their Part, Too,” McKinsey and Co, October 23, 2018)

Senior executives of multinational companies tasked with leading their companies’ diversity and inclusion initiatives will be meeting in New York on February 21-22, 2019 to discuss making the workplace more equitable at the Global Summit of Women’s Colloquium on Global Diversity.  To see what happened at the 2018 Colloquium, click here.

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SAVE THE DATE!

2019 GLOBAL SUMMIT OF WOMEN
BASEL, SWITZERLAND
JULY 4-6, 2O19

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