News & Views

WFE members Ring the Bell for Gender Equality 2021

By: The WFE Focus Team Apr 2021

The WFE is pleased to announce that its members have been involved last month in events in the US, EMEA and Asia-Pacific for the annual 'Ring the Bell for Gender Equality' initiative.

For the seventh consecutive year, a global collaboration has seen 108 exchanges around the world ring opening or closing bells to celebrate International Women’s Day 2021 (Monday 8 March 2021). The events - which started on Monday 8 March, and lasted for two weeks - are a partnership between IFC, Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, UN Global Compact, UN Women, the World Federation of Exchanges and Women in ETFs, to raise awareness about the business case for women’s economic empowerment, and the opportunities for the private sector to advance gender equality and sustainable development.

This year, the UN Women’s theme for International Women’s Day 2021 – “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world” celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Women leaders and women’s organizations have demonstrated their skills, knowledge and networks to effectively lead in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. Today there is more recognition than ever before that women bring different experiences, perspectives and skills to the table, and make irreplaceable contributions to decisions, policies and laws that work better for all.

Please find below some summaries of events organised by WFE members to mark International Women's Day 2021:

New York Stock Exchange - The World Federation of Exchanges Ltd Virtually Rings The Closing Bell® The New York Stock Exchange welcomes The World Federation of Exchanges Ltd., today, Thursday, March 4, 2021, as it rings The Closing Bell® to highlight International Women’s Day and “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality”. NYSE video.

Kazakhstan Stock Exchange – The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange has rung its bells on 5 March! KASE News.

Shenzhen Stock Exchange – Shenzhen Stock Exchange is proud to join over 100 other exchanges in ringing the bell for gender equality. Ms Wang Hong, Vice President of SZSE, leads the bell ringing ceremony. She says that female staff account for 50% of SZSE’s workforce and play a crucial role in the exchange’s development. She emphasizes that the exchange provides a broad platform and diverse opportunities for female staff’s career development. Shenzhen Stock Exchange now has 50% female representation on the management board. SZSE News.

B3 – For the fifth consecutive year, Brazil’s exchange B3 ceremonially rang the opening bell to raise awareness of female economic empowerment, and to point out opportunities for the private sector when promoting gender equality and sustainable development. B3 News.

Botswana Stock Exchange – Opening Bell Ceremony held on the 8 March 2021 to ring the bell for gender equality.

Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange – "Ringing the Bell for Gender Equality” themed: “Women in Leadership - Achieving an Equal Future in a Challenging World". The event held at DSE on 8th March 2021 with the Chief Guest Hon. Judge Joaquine A. De’mello — TAWJA’s Chairperson; Mr. Simon Shayo - Chairman of the Board UN Global Compact Network Tanzania; Ms. Hodan Addou - Country Representative UN Women; H.E. Pamela O’Donnell - Canadian High Commission, and Mr. Moremi Marwa - Chief Executive Officer Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange PLC. DSE News.

Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) - To mark International Women’s Day (March 8), the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) joined dozens of exchange houses around the globe to celebrate the 7th annual ‘Ring the Bell for Gender Equality’ ceremony, aimed at raising awareness for women’s empowerment principles. The 2021 theme is “Women in leadership, achieving an equal future in a COVID- 19 world”. DGCX News.

Japan Exchange Group– 8 March 2021 - JPX and TSE Hold International Women's Day Bell Ringing Ceremony. JPX News.

Boursa Kuwait – 8 March 2021 - On International Women’s Day, Boursa Kuwait Rings the Bell for Women’s Empowerment. Boursa Kuwait News.

London Stock Exchange Group - 8 March 2021 - London Stock Exchange Group celebrates International Women's Day 2021 - Ring the Bell for Gender Equality - LSEG News - Ring the Bell MO Replay - Password: IWD

Luxembourg Stock Exchange – On 8 March 2021, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) celebrated its time-honoured tradition of ringing the LuxSE bell for Gender Equality, along with around 100 other exchanges. With the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day being #ChoosetoChallenge, LuxSE took to the virtual sphere to welcome the prominent speakers Nandini Sukumar, CEO of WFE, Daniel Danso, Global Diversity Manager at Linklaters and Stephanie von Friedeburg, Senior Vice President, Operations at IFC, who all shared powerful messages and inspiring stories to raise awareness of gender equality and women's empowerment across the world.

Malta Stock Exchange – 8 March 2021 – Malta Stock Exchange successfully held the ‘Ring the Bell for Gender Equality 2021’ event.

National Stock Exchange of India – 8 March 2021 – NSE celebrate women leaders and rang the NSE Bell for Gender Equality. Senior women leaders also shared their thoughts on the occasion.

Singapore Exchange – 8 March 2021 – SGX has participated in the initiative where representatives from WE Singapore, IFC (Singapore) and United Women Singapore attended and witness the striking of the gong. SGX News.

Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) - 8 March 2021 - SSE held a bell-ringing ceremony to celebrate International Women's Day. It is the first time for the SSE to participate in the 'Ring the Bell for Gender Equality' initiative. Selected female representatives from SSE’s various departments and subsidiaries as well as from the SSE WFE Affairs Office and SSE Green Finance and Sustainable Development Working Group joined the ceremony.

Taipei Exchange – 8 March 2021 – Taipei Exchange has held the Gong Ceremony for Gender Equality. Taipei News.

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange – 8 March 2021 - In Honor of International Women’s Day 2021 Women Executives of TASE-listed High-Tech and Biomed Companies and R&D Partnership Opened Trading. TASE News.

Tunis Stock Exchange – 8 March 2021 - The annual ceremony "Ring the Bell for Gender Equality", was organized in honor and in the presence of members of the "HEC'FA" club of IHEC Carthage and students of the Institute of Press and Information Sciences”. BVMT News.

Baku Stock Exchange – 9 March 2021 - The "Ring the Bell Gender Equality" event was organized by the Baku Stock Exchange in the format of a video conference. The event featured a presentation by UN Development Program experts on the principles of gender equality and sustainable development. BFB News.

Philippine Stock Exchange – PSE celebrates women's day with Ring the Bell for Gender Equality event. PSE News.

Indonesia Stock Exchange - On Tuesday, 9 March 2021, UN Women through the WeEmpowerAsia program funded by the European Union, Indonesia Global Compact Network (IGCN), and the Indonesia Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (IBCWE), with the support of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and the International Finance Corporation, held virtual event "Ring the Bell for Gender Equality" in Indonesia. IDX News.

Ghana Stock Exchange – 10 March 2021-The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) in collaboration with International Finance Corporation (IFC), joined stock exchanges around the world to “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality,” an event set aside by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) and to promote women empowerment. The theme for this year’s IWD is, “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world,” with a pledge to “ChooseToChallenge”. GSE News.

Panama Stock Exchange – 10 March 2021: For the fourth consecutive year, the Panama Stock Exchange joins 108 Exchanges around the world and participates in the Ring of the Bell for the Gender Equality in commemoration of International Women's Day, reaffirming its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 5: Gender Equality, urging private entities and governments to adopt initiatives to achieve this goal. BVP News. BVP Video.

Taiwan Stock Exchange – 15 March 2021-The Taiwan Stock Exchange (the “TWSE”) partook in the “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality 2021”. Chairman Jan-Yau Hsu and President Lih-Chung Chien of the TWSE led all senior executives to support the "Ringing the Bell for Gender Equality" initiative to demonstrate the TWSE’s commitment to promoting gender equality and present Taiwan’s achievements in ensuring women’s empowerment. TWSE News.