WUNRN
Stock Exchanges Ring Opening Bells for Gender
Equality
UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi
Puri (centre) and dozens of UN, government and global business leaders, took
part in the Ring the Bell ceremony at the NASDAQ Stock Exchange on 9 March.
Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown
9 March 2015 - New York– In celebration of the 20th
anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and
International Women’s Day, stock exchanges from around the world joined UN
Women, the UN Global Compact and the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative in
supporting gender equality and highlighting the pivotal role of the private
sector in empowering women.
On 9 March, Cathy Engelbert, CEO-elect of Deloitte LLP,
rang the opening bell of the NASDAQ Stock Exchange in New York at the
traditional 9.30 a.m. mark, saying, “It is an honour and privilege to ring the
opening bell at NASDAQ for International Women’s Day.”
She was joined by UN Women Deputy Director Lakshmi Puri,
Chair of the Women's Empowerment Principles' Leadership Group Elizabeth
Broderick, Commissioner for International Affairs for the City of New York
Penny Abeywardena, UN Global Compact Executive Director Georg Kell, and dozens
of business leaders, investors, as well as government and UN representatives.
“We are calling on finance and business to work to
achieve Planet 50-50 by 2030 and to Step It Up for gender equality, so that it
will happen!” said Ms. Puri.
The symbolic bell-ringing commemoration in New York City,
capped off a week of events around the world, kicked off in Egypt on 3 March
with bells being rung through India, Poland, Nigeria, Sweden and Turkey. Each
participating city saw an array of illustrious women role-models invested in
empowering women ringing the bell.
The initiative was hosted by UN Women Country Offices and
Global Compact
Local Networks to raise awareness about the importance of gender
equality to business and recognize how the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) – a
joint initiative of UN Women and UN Global Compact – can support action on
advancing gender equality and women’s full participation in economic life
across all sectors.
“As an organizer of both the WEPs and the SSE initiative,
the UN Global Compact is encouraged to see exchanges, companies, investors,
governments and the UN coming together to take on this critical issue of gender
equality,” said UN Global Compact Executive Director Georg Kell. “If we
are to ensure women's full and effective participation, and equal opportunity
at all levels of political, economic and public life, we need the full
commitment and collaboration of all stakeholders.”
Investing in women and girls, and enabling their full
economic participation, is important for business and society to build strong
economies and more stable and just societies, improve the quality of life for
families and communities, and achieve sustainable development.
On 10-11 March, WEPs stakeholders built on this global
momentum by bringing together leaders from business, Government, the UN and
civil society for the 2015 WEPs Event,
Unlimited Potential: Business Partners for Gender Equality.
Participants will reflect on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action – the 1995 comprehensive global framework for women’s empowerment – and chart
a path toward a sustainable, equitable and inclusive future. This year’s
meeting is being held for the first time as an official side event of the 59th
Commission on the Status of Women.