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In celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2024, Bursa Malaysia Berhad ("Bursa Malaysia" or "the Exchange"), reaffirms its commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment and will hold a ‘Ring the Bell for Gender Equality’ ceremony[1].
This year’s event is held in collaboration with LeadWomen as well as United Nations (“UN”) Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and will feature a two-part panel session focusing on unlocking sustainable development through green and caring practices, with multi-dimensional perspectives from corporate and international advocacy representatives.
The first panel, entitled “Invest in Women: Accelerating Progress for Sustainable Development in Malaysia” will feature Aina Zahari, Director of Corporate Strategy, Bursa Malaysia; Johary Mustapha, Chief Executive Officer of Forest International; Chuah Sze Phing, Chief of Communications & Sustainability Officer & Head, Group Marketing & Communications, Kenanga Investment; and Amy Baum, International Consultant at UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Moderated by Dr. Hezri Adnan, Director of Group Sustainability, Bursa Malaysia, the panel will discuss the business case for investing in women as well as strategies for organisations to progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5)[2], in relation to women’s leadership.
The second panel, “The Intersections of Gender Equality and Macro Trends in Malaysian Businesses”, will provide insights from the business community on ways to empower women in thought leadership and innovation. Panellists for this session are Dr. Chen Wei-nee, Head of Carbon Market, Bursa Malaysia; Christina Ongoma, Manager, Financial Institutions Group – Upstream and Advisory Services, East Asia and the Pacific at the International Finance Corporation; Nicholas Khaw, Head of Research, Khazanah Nasional Berhad; and Anita Ahmad, Chief Executive Officer of Yayasan MySDG; with Krishnavenee Krishnan, Head of Strategic Innovation and Business Development & Head, Bursa Gold Dinar of Bursa Malaysia, as the moderator.
Commenting on this event, Dr. Hezri highlighted, “Bursa Malaysia has been at the forefront of promoting gender equality in the Malaysian capital market. As an organisation, the women in our senior management has increased from 42.1% in 2021 to 44.7% in 2023. As an Exchange, we lead the region with the highest representation of women on boards among Malaysian listed companies based on the UN Sustainability Stock Exchange 2023 report[3]. However, there is still work to be done to accelerate progress in empowering women within our market, and we are committed to further this collective effort.”
Ring the Bell for Gender Equality hosted by the Exchange will be held on Friday, 8 March 2024, from 8:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Bursa Malaysia. The event is complimentary and open to the public. Registration can be done via this link: https://forms.office.com/r/HGc1nPVfSV
[1] Ringing the bell is a symbolic gesture initiated by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) for stock exchanges around the world to draw attention to significant issues. Bursa Malaysia has previously supported the WFE’s campaigns in support of gender equality in the capital market.
