Insights from the Women’s Forum Global Meeting 2021

Excited to be part of the Women’s Forum Global Meeting 2021. This hybrid conference has started on November 15th and closes on November 19th.

The Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society mainstreams a gender perspective and drives inclusive solutions to global social and economic challenges. The Women’s Forum envisions a world where women are equal actors and decision-makers across spheres – in politics, business and in our society. The Women’s Forum seeks to remove structural barriers to equality, ensuring that women of all generations, ethnic, cultural and social backgrounds can rise as key drivers of a more just and inclusive world.

The Women’s Forum Global Meeting is bringing knowledge and insights from the Women’s Forum Daring Circles together. The Women’s Forum Daring Circles are innovative cross-industry working groups convening  representatives from business, policymakers, experts, scientists, international organisations, NGOs and academia to engage for long-term positive impact on issues where women are disproportionately impacted, and where their leadership is crucial. These are the themes of the different Daring Circles; Women4AI, Women4BUSINESS, Women4CLIMATEACTION, Women4HEALTH and Women4STEM.

The conference started with ”A JUST GREEN FUTURE” from the Women4ClimateAction Daring Circle, with discussions how women’s leadership is key to addressing climate change and achieving a low-carbon economy. Followed by ”INCLUSIVE STEM AND TECH FOR GOOD” led by the Women4Stem Daring Circle. Girls and women are still missing from STEM training and workforces, and the world is losing the chance to apply their diverse talents, perspectives and leadership to shaping a sustainable future. How can we inspire, retain and advance diverse perspectives in STEM, and what is the link between STEM skills, social mobility and decent work, and a positive impact on the world?

Very interesting sessions took place on day 3 of the global meeting; with the theme”EQUAL ACCESS TO HEALTH” by the Women4Health Daring Circle. Access to health is not yet equitable for all. By paying attention to intersecting identities and other social, behavioural, cultural and economic determinants of health, and by unlocking the health leadership of women, can we shape a better, more inclusive future of health in the post-Covid world?

Women are 70% of the health workforce worldwide and are the majority of unpaid caregivers. Indeed, 80% of mothers are the primary health care decision makers for their children. However, women have always had to overcome many barriers to get full access to healthcare.

Day 4 was about ”EMPOWERED BUSINESS” supported by the Women4Business Daring Circle. Entrepreneurship by women and other underrepresented minorities is a vital part of an inclusive recovery. How can powerful, purposeful leadership create the environment for suppliers and entrepreneurs to succeed and also to scale up so that they can in turn be a powerful part of global supply chains?

I’m very proud to be part of the Women4BUSINESS Daring Circle network where I can share my knowledge of challenges, barriers, obstacles but also the many advantages of a more diverse supply chain.

The Women4Business Daring Circle is led by P&G, in collaboration with BNP Paribas, ExxonMobil, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal and Publicis Groupe. The Circle is supported by Knowledge Partner Kearney, Insight Partner Clifford Chance, and Institutional Partners WEConnect International and UN Women, and HEC as Academic Partner, along with a diverse network of experts and corporate champions.

Day 5 will be packed with many sessions and discussions around – ”Uniting power with purpose: What the world needs now”. There are firestarter chats on ”Building an inclusive post-Covid economy” to ”The power of purpose: women’s leadership in crisis” and ”Black Lives Matter, racial justice and catalysing necessary systems change” just to name a few.

What a great week of empowering discussions and inspiring speakers.