At BALFIN Group’s companies, gender equality is manifested in quotas, leadership, rewards, and career opportunities. However, International Women’s Day does not go by without highlighting its importance. To commemorate, BALFIN Group chose UN Women’s educational theme, acknowledging a persistent gender gap in digital access worldwide that is keeping women from unlocking technology’s full potential.
In in collaboration with UN Women Albania, BALFIN Group organized an interactive session. Employees learned more about the effects of women’s underrepresentation in education, careers, tech design, and governance in countries across the world. “DigitALL: Innovation & Technology for Gender Equality” gathered men and women from BALFIN Group, which tested their statistics knowledge and gender perception.
Rachele Megna, Program Analyst at UN Women Albania, provided a global and national overview on gender equality in the digital age. She highlighted relevant data on access, education, and employment. According to UN Women, in 2020 women comprised more than 40% of university graduates in STEM-related fields in Albania. However, the share of women occupying higher positions in ICT industries, such as high-level managers or directors, is disproportionately low at 26%. Data indicates the existence of a “glass ceiling”. This refers to impediments and invisible barriers that militate against women’s access to top decision-making and managerial positions in organizations.
Read also: International Equal Pay Day: Gender Equality at BALFIN Group
Lastly, participants had the opportunity to share their own perceptions on gender roles, closing gaps in digital access and skills, and supporting women and girls in STEM.
Women occupy 60% of our workforce and 40% of managerial positions. At BALFIN Group, we break glass ceilings, actively promote gender equality, merit-based rewards, and women empowerment, every step of the way, from recruitment to promotion and growth opportunities, as the only recipe for inclusive and transparent corporate governance.
This International Women’s Day, we applaud our women colleagues in investments, retail, real estate, asset management, banking, media, and logistics, and encourage them to pursue higher goals.
