From left to right: Gilson Finkelsztain, B3 CEO, Daniel Sonder, Vice-President of Financial, Corporate & Investor Relations at B3; Nadine Gasman, Representative of UN Women in Brazil; Denise Hills, President of the Brazilian Global Compact Network and Senior Executive of Sustainability and Inclusive Business at Itaú; Viviane Basso, Settlement Managing Director at B3; Ana Buchaim, HR Managing Director at B3, Hermano Crubellati, representing B3’s employees; Denise Pavarina, member of B3’s Board of Directors and Senior Executive at Bradesco; and Regina Magalhães, South America Sustainability and Innovation Senior Manager at Schneider Electric
For the second consecutive year, B3 held today a symbolic bell ringing ceremony in support of gender equality, as part of the "Ring the Bell for Gender Equality" call for action. The event honored International Women's Day and its chief goal, among others, is to raise awareness of the role that the private sector can play in promoting gender equality in the workplace, in the market and in the community.
The event is an initiative led by the United Nations Organization through the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE), the Global Compact, the UN Women, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). The “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” is a joint effort of 60 stock exchanges around the world to host a symbolic ringing of the opening bell.
B3 joined the “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” for the first time in 2017 and also joined the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs), a joint initiative of the UN Women and the Global Compact which helps the private sector to advance gender equality in the workplace, in the market and in the community. B3 was the first signatory of the initiative in the Americas and the sixth in the world.
Gilson Finkelsztain, B3’s Chief Executive Officer, opened this year’s bell ringing event highlighting the importance of discussing gender equality in Brazil and within the company. “With this event we seek to advance the discussion on gender equality, promote debate, provide inspiring examples, and encourage a growing number of listed companies to adopt practices that increase gender equality," said the CEO at the opening bell ringing ceremony.
Nadine Gasman, the representative of UN Women Brazil, invited other Brazilian companies besides B3 to sign the WEPs and pointed out that we are at a "decisive moment to make the right decisions and that will lead us to make fundamental changes so as to ensure women’s human rights".
Following Nadine’s speech, Denise Hills, President of the Brazilian Global Compact Network and Senior Executive of Sustainability and Inclusive Business at Itaú talked about the challenge of developing society in an egalitarian way. According to Denise, "societies that are transformed under this perspective increasingly contribute to a world where everyone fits in and that is the world where we want to live."
Denise Paravarina, a member of B3's Board of Directors and Senior Executive at Bradesco, talked about her personal challenges and inspirations, and encouraged women to work towards equality. "I can, I have this right as a citizen and as a person, nothing will stop me but myself." She recalled that, historically, men have become accustomed to attending informal environments that promote interaction and open up important paths. "We must have access to the same opportunities," Denise suggested urging women to find this space.
Data related to the labor market for women were brought by Ana Buchaim, HR Managing Director at B3. Ana talked about the evolution she sees in the quest for equity and the need for dialogue. "Companies have been working toward this direction and are willing to talk about it so that we can break some of these barriers."
Technology is regarded as being a great ally in the gender equality movement. According to Regina Magalhães, South America Sustainability and Innovation Senior Manager at Schneider Electric, "technologies provide connections and encounters between people. These innovations also allow people to express themselves and to be seen and recognized in society. No wonder that there is a resurgence of social movements by all those who have felt discriminated against over time. Technology is a key tool to support these movements," adds Regina.
The bell ringing ceremony is quite traditional in the capital markets and this year it had a significant change at B3: the traditional Brazilian song “Aquarela do Brasil”, sung by Gal Costa and played in all the company’s bell ringing ceremonies was replaced by “Maria Maria”, sung by Milton Nascimento, in honor of the International Women's Day.
To watch the video of this year’s bell ringing event, go to Facebook da B3 page (bell ringing at 1hour27min11sec).
B3’s initiatives in promoting gender equality
- The B3 Institute of Education offers the "Women in Action" course with a focus on the principles of financial planning to foster a culture of savings and asset building among women;
- B3 is one of the founders and maintainers of the Brazilian Financial Education Association (AEF), which offers a financial education program for low-income women on the Bolsa Familia welfare plan. This program has already served 1,500 women and aims to increase this number to 4,000;
- The B3 Business Sustainability Index questionnaire has 18 questions related to gender equality and diversity;
- B3 was the first exchange in the world to join the GLOBAL COMPACT in 2004. It was the first exchange from an emerging market to become a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2010. It was one of the five founding signatories of the SSE in 2012;
- B3, in the person of Sonia Favaretto, Media Relations, Sustainability and Communications Managing Director, was recognized by Global Compact as one of ten pioneers in the world for her work on promoting the Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 5 seeks to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”.
