Johannesburg, 8 March 2021: In celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD), the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has joined other stock exchanges and financial services institutions from around the world to ring the bell for gender equality at this morning’s virtual market open.
This is the 7th Annual “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” ceremony and the theme for this year’s event is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world”. The market open was held in collaboration with RMB, UN Women, UN Global Compact, Women in ETFs, World Federation of Exchanges, Sustainable Stock Exchanges, and International Finance Corporation.
Commenting on research conducted by UN Women, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said in a report titled COVID-19: How women are bearing the burden of unpaid work that, among other things, the pandemic reinforces gender stereotypes at home. There was clear evidence, according to the report, that although both genders have seen their unpaid workloads increase, women are bearing more of the burden than men.
Moreover, the UN Women’s research found that more than 28 million women over the age of 25 are estimated to have left the labour market altogether in 55 high- and middle-income countries over the last year, compared to 24 million men.
“Left unattended, the detrimental impact of the pandemic on women is likely to reverse gender equality gains that society has made over the years. By shining the light on this, we believe governments and business across the world can pull together to support gender equality efforts and economic empowerment of women,” said Ms Shameela Soobramoney, Chief Sustainability Officer at the JSE.
The JSE continues to champion women empowerment through employment and listing requirements. The JSE Board, the highest decision-making body in the organisation, is led by a female Chairperson, Nonkululeko Nyembezi, and comprises 60% women representation, and the JSE executive committee is 66.7% female.
Earlier this morning, Leila Fourie, Group CEO of the JSE, and several women leaders delved deeper on gender equality and discussed possible solutions on how women in corporate SA can shape a more equal future in a COVID-19 world.
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ABOUT THE JSE
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has a well-established history operating as a market place for trading financial products.
It is a pioneering, globally connected exchange group that enables inclusive economic growth through trusted, world class, socially responsible products, and services for the investor of the future. It offers secure and efficient primary and secondary capital markets across a diverse range of securities, spanning equities, derivatives, and debt markets.
It prides itself as being the market of choice for local and international investors looking to gain exposure to leading capital markets on the African continent. The JSE is currently ranked in the Top 20 largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalisation, and is the largest stock exchange in Africa, having been in operation for over 130 years.
As a leading global exchange, the JSE co-creates, unlocks value & makes real connections happen.
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