Over 100 exchanges worldwide 'Ring the Bell for Gender Equality 2021' in recognition of the International Women's Day 2021

9 March, 2021

The SSE is pleased to announce that this year 104 exchanges around the world are involved in holding events for the annual 'Ring the Bell for Gender Equality' initiative. Click here to see the list.

For the seventh consecutive year, a global collaboration has resulted in exchanges around the world ringing opening or closing bells to celebrate International Women’s Day 2021 (Monday 8 March 2021) and to bring attention to the pivotal role the private sector can play in advancing gender equality to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to raise awareness about the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).

Today there is more recognition than ever that women bring different experiences, perspectives and skills to the table that make irreplaceable contributions to decisions that work better for all. New UN SSE research, however, shows that women are still underrepresented in key positions in corporations around the world. Gender equality is a fundamental human right, yet despite this, and despite the strong business case for female involvement, women worldwide only make up a very low proportion of executive positions. For example, in the case of G20 markets, women account for 20% of board members, 5.5% of board chairs and just 3.5% of all CEOs.

The events (in-person and virtual which started today and will last for one week) are a partnership between the UN SEE and a coalition of partners including IFC, The World Federation of Exchanges, UN Global Compact, UN Women, and Women in ETFs, to raise awareness about the business case for women’s economic empowerment, and the opportunities for the private sector to advance gender equality and sustainable development.

Quotes from around the World

James Zhan (Chair, United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges and Director, Investment and Enterprise UNCTAD) said: “Achieving gender equality is integral to sustainable and inclusive development. We are very happy to see over 100 exchanges take part in this year’s Ring the Bell for Gender equality events. We are also encouraged by the fact that 25 exchanges, up from 10 in 2019, are now signatories to the UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles. However, as our new research lays out, with women holding only 20% of board seats across listed companies in the G20, we still have a long way to go before we achieve SDG 5 on gender equality. We look forward to working with exchanges and our development partners to help achieve this goal.”

Nandini Sukumar (CEO of the WFE) said: “We are pleased with the tremendous response from market infrastructures across the world supporting International Women's Day. As public markets we believe in equality of access and the power of market infrastructure to play a role in bringing about sustainable growth and development.’’

Women in ETFs: “There is a natural synergy for Women in ETFs to celebrate International Women’s Day with bell ringings. Gender equality is central to driving the global economy and the private sector has an important role to play. Our mission is to create opportunities for professional development and advancement of women by expanding connections among women and men in the financial industry.”

Darrin Hartzler (Manager of IFC’s Corporate Governance Group): “Increasing opportunity for women through the career ranks and into the highest levels of corporate leadership can significantly enhance company performance. (...) Evidence from stock exchanges around the world shows that companies with a better gender balance at the top outperform other companies. And stock exchanges want strong performers.”