"Financial and digital education have and will increasingly have a strategic role in bridging gender gaps and achieving greater inclusion, especially in sectors such as cybersecurity and fintech where women are practically absent". She said it Claudia Segre, president of the Global Thinking Foundation, a non-profit founded in 2016 to spread financial and digital literacy for the weakest groups, speaking at a panel on the theme of gender finance, organized in Luxembourg on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of LFMA, the Association of Financial Market Operators of Luxembourg with Karin Scholtes, Head of HR and Communications of BIL.
“Finance can return to a more human approach, attentive to the person, only through a major participation of women to the activities of the sector which today remains limited to the legal sector, compliance, human resources and research, therefore far from the 'control room'", continued the president of the GLT Foundation, adding that "the financial community must make a strong commitment culture on gender equality if we really want to support employment, career development and the presence of women in decision-making places”.
Small steps towards gender equality
“In Italy, thanks to Gulf-Moscow law, the percentage of women on boards of directors has gone from 10% to 5% in 35 years, a figure higher than in Germany and very close to that of Sweden – added Segre -. In this regard, Nasdaq USA has proposed a new Rule 5606(f), which requires public companies to have diversified board members or to disclose the reasons why their board is not diversified. Last but not least, the European Commission has issued a new directive addressed to listed companies which must increase the presence of women to 40% on non-executive boards and to 33% in other governing bodies, by 2026”.
Segre: "Women are the engine of economic growth in every country"
"Ensuring gender balance, therefore, should be a priority for companies as well as for politics, which can only face the current economic challenges in this way, because women represent the real engine of change and economic growth in every country - underlined the president of the Global Thinking Foundation -. L'equal rights it is obviously an ethical-moral issue, but also a crucial one for economic development as demonstrated by the numerous studies produced in the last 5 years, all unanimous in confirming the better profitability produced by companies that have launched effective gender policies effective both in terms of participation and presence of women in top positions”.
Segre: "Gender equality requires a great common commitment"
“Changing the paradigm of corporate welfare activities is very important, managers and staff must be involved in a discussion on the principles of sustainability, such as goal 5 of the 2030 Agenda on gender equality which is a precondition for the achievement of all other global sustainability goals (SDGs). Up to the ESG criteria which are a point of distinction for an effective social responsibility of companies which otherwise are unlikely to attract new investors”, concluded Segre.
