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Euractiv organises policy events in Brussels and other European capitals.

Euractiv Events

Closing the gender gap - How to empower women leadership in industry?

28-11-2024

Closing the gender gap - How to empower women leadership in industry?

As Europe’s industrial landscape undergoes significant transformation driven by digitalisation, sustainability goals, and technological advancements, the need for inclusive leadership has never been greater. The European Union has been taking multiple steps to try to close the gender gap in industry leadership and support inclusive growth.

In 2020, the EU put forward its Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, which proposes measures specifically targeting gender imbalances in leadership across sectors, including business and finance. In 2022, the Women on Boards Directive was adopted, requiring publicly listed companies in Member States to have women in at least 40% of non-executive board positions by 2026.

However, despite these efforts, data shows that women’s presence on boards has increased, but their presence in board chairs and CEO positions remains markedly low. Specifically, executive roles in male-dominated sectors such as STEM and manufacturing remain significantly underrepresented.

Going forward, the new Commission mandate plans on addressing these issues, with the appointment of a Commissioner for Equality. One of the missions of the new Commissioner will be to work on a new Gender Equality Strategy, updating action on all issues affecting women, including their economic empowerment and the issues they face in the labour market.

Join this Euractiv event to discuss what can be done to close the gender gap and promote female leadership in the industry sector. Questions to be discussed include:

• What additional steps are needed to increase women’s representation in top executive roles in the industry sector?
• What role do mentorship and sponsorship programmes play in preparing women for leadership in industry?
• How can male-dominated industry sectors such as manufacturing and tech adjust recruitment and retention practices to build a more gender-diverse leadership pipeline?
• How can companies measure and report on gender equality progress to enhance transparency and accountability? And how can they effectively cultivate an inclusive corporate culture that supports and retains female leaders?
• How can a new Gender Equality Strategy effectively tackle barriers to women’s economic empowerment and reduce gender disparities in the labour market?

Supported by:

Location

Place du Luxembourg 26, 1050 Ixelles

Panellists

OPENING REMARKS
Maria Linkova-Nijs
Executive Head of Policy and Strategy, ACEA

PANELLISTS
Dana Adriana Puia Morel
Policy Expert on Women’s Entrepreneurship and Girls in STEM/ESTEAM, and Internal Coach, SMEs, DG GROW, European Commission

Isabelle Schömann
Deputy General Secretary, ETUC

Isotta Cerri
Head of Material Engineering, R&D Department, Toyota Motor Europe

Claire Boussagol
Managing Director, Euractiv

Moderator

Mariam Zaidi
Euractiv

Schedule

17:00 - 17:30 Registration of participants
17:30 - 17:35 Welcome
17:35 - 17:40 Opening remarks
Euractiv Policy Debate
17:40 - 17:55 Panellist statements
17:55 - 18:40 Discussion and Q&A
18:40 - 18:45 Closing statements

Followed by a light networking reception

Contact

Juliette Burton
juliette.burton@euractiv.com