The United Nations in Albania in partnership with the Albanian Women’s Economic Chamber and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), organized the information session “Women Empowerment and Sustainable Business” on September 23rd. BALFIN Group Real Estate Vice President, Ardiana Sokoli, was invited as a valued member to offer her contribution and insight on the topic, in a speech that reflected both her experience as a leader, and BALFIN Group’s standards and practices with regards to sustaining gender ratio in human capital and empowering women.
This informative session highlighted how Albanian businesses can engage with the pressing issue of gender equality and women empowerment by looking beyond the existing platforms, using the available tools and instruments offered by the UN Global Compact. “It is time to accelerate action to support the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals and meet the target of Gender Equality by 2030,” said Fiona McCluney, UN Resident Coordinator in Albania in her opening remarks. Gender equality and social sustainability experts presented UN Global Compact and Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) to convey a practical message to the audience present.
Most importantly, the session featured inspiring examples to drive change in the Albanian private sector – one of them being BALFIN Group’s case. Vice President of Real Estate, Ardiana Sokoli, elaborated on how BALFIN Group is contributing to an essential cultural shift that supports an inclusive, sustainable, and thriving environment for employees, customers, and the society, through transparent anti-discriminatory policies in ethical code of conduct, recruitment, career development, promotion and leadership.
“The success of BALFIN Group is closely linked to the equal participation of women in every aspect of business development and operation. I am proud to say that this is one of the distinguishing elements of BALFIN Group. The contribution and leadership of women in every group company has created an environment where business has grown steadily and continuously, which we consider a competitive advantage that sets a very good example in all countries where we are present,” concluded Vice President of Real Estate in her speech.
BALFIN Group is one of the first and few groups in the Western Balkans that actively and rigorously implements the highest standards in human resources management, starting from talent acquisition to reward schemes and continuous development. At Group level, 60% of employees are men and 40% are women. Women make up for 45% of the Board of Directors, the highest decision-making body. Over 35% of BALFIN Group CEOs and more than 40% of managerial positions are run by women. In addition, 53% of Talent Pool participants, a leadership development program, are women. In light of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Gender Equality target, BALFIN Group will continue to internally and externally promote and foster ground for women empowerment.
