From November 15-19, 2021, was held the first-ever hybrid Women's Forum Global Meeting. With great pride, it united our international community in Paris and online to reflect on this year's lessons of resilience and hope when facing the Covid-19 global pandemic. The Global Meeting allowed the audience to get together to think, create and debate on different approaches to tackle gender inequalities.
With thousands of you gathering for the Global Meeting, hailing from a total of 115 countries, this was the most geographically diverse meeting ever! It goes without saying that the forum was equally thrilled to welcome 170+ speakers from across regions, cultures, and sectors, and to hold 22 hours of discussions. The messages reached 30 million people on social media.
For the first time, the event invited all 250+ Rising Talents from more than 90+ countries to reunite at the Rising Talents Reception in Paris. It had the chance to witness their 7 networking sessions, in partnership with Lazard, on a large variety of topics at the dedicated Rising Talents Hub.
I want to share and highlight some key points as a reflection about the learning gotten during the event:
- The underrepresentation of women in STEM is one of the biggest challenges in the economies. According to a barometer launched by the Forum, 80% of the respondents are convinced that better access to STEM jobs will have a positive impact on the economy and society.
- Because Resilience hood is all of us connected to share our experiences and stories and how to help fellow women to be resilient.
- Women`s physical health and mental and emotional well-being are really not just highlight and emphasized in society.
- You are not alone, you need to know you are not alone, you are just having this experience by yourself, there are other women, other families that are having similar experiences, and our ability to help each other through those experiences that really what makes this collective week.
- Women must say what they want, and the scientific community has to raise their voices as well . Collaboration and partnership is the only way to make it.
Leadership in the new normal must be:
- Transparent
- Vulnerable
- We need real stories
- Authenticity
- Integrity
- It is important to combine purpose and business, fully integrated into our strategy.
- When we talk about what needs to be given for women economic power, few things:
- We need to see investments in women´s jobs
- We need to see opportunities created for women´s entrepreneurship
- We need to see equal pay for all types of women
- We need to invest in mindset shifts, if mindsets don’t shift, we will not see a change in Women´s economic power
In her participation during the opening of the Women´s forum, Elisabeth Moreno Minister Delegate for Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities of the Government of France said:
“ I strongly believe that the time has come to challenge the traditional representation of women´s role at home, at work but also into our entire society”.
She also mentioned that Improving women`s situation is not just a question of social justice, but it is beneficial to society as a whole, President Macron has declared gender equality as the great cause of his five-year term and the most urgent dimensions are:
- Equal pay
- The representation of women in the circle of power
- Their work-life balance
She mentioned that purpose cannot be dissociated from power in today´s economy, it is an attribute that future talents will look at, it is a parameter that investors will consider, and it is a dimension that consumers will consider in their buying and in their investment decisions.
” Ladies our future belongs to us”, she concluded.
As it was repeated throughout the Global Meeting, due to the Covid-19 crisis the gender gap has reverted to its state from 36 years ago, meaning that it will now take us 135 years to reach gender parity.
We are not willing to wait for gender equality to become reality. Women's rights are being rolled back throughout the world, as we heard in unforgettable testimonies from our speakers.
The current state of affairs requires urgent action. Today, more than ever, the world needs women's leadership, purpose, and power for positive impact.
The invitation to the event is simple:
- Now is the time to ensure that commitments are followed up by action.
- Now is the time to measure our impact and hold our leaders accountable.
- Now, we must make up for lost time and ensure that gender equality becomes our reality.
The 21st century needs everyone on board.
