Among 118 exchanges around the world, Palestine Exchange Rings the Bell for Gender Equality 2023
Date:
13 March 2023, Ramallah - In commemorating International Women’s Day, Palestine Exchange (PEX), in partnership with UN Women, the Palestine Capital Market Authority (PCMA) and the International Finance Cooperation (IFC), organized the Ring the Bell event for Gender Equality for the fifth time in Palestine.
This year, around 118 exchanges around the world have partnered with 'Ring the Bell for Gender Equality' to raise awareness on how the private sector can contribute to gender equality and sustainable development. Through this campaign, they hope to inspire companies globally to create a more equitable future.
The UN Women’s theme for International Women’s Day 2023 - “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality”, recognizes and celebrates the women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education.
H.E Khaled Osaili, Minister of National Economy expressed his pride of the Newly adopted modern Companies Law, which provides incentives to businesses, especially led women and youth. “We are working now on adopting the draft e-commerce Law, which will reinforce creating job opportunities for women and youth”, H.E added.
Mr. Samir Hulileh, Chairperson of PEX, asserted the importance of innovation in gender equality, stating, “At Palestine Exchange, we strive to create a platform that supports equal access for all genders when it comes to services and opportunities in the field of investments. This is why we are constantly creating new tools and advancing our methods to stay ahead of the curve. Our commitment to financial inclusion guides everything that we do. We are striving to build a brighter, more equitable and inclusive future for all, through the collaboration of different elements in the market.”
Mr. Murad Jadbeh, General Manager of the Securities Department at PCMA emphasized the necessity of investing in women for the benefit and gains of all societies and countries. Partnerships between government, the private sector and civil society institutions should be strengthened to build a more inclusive, fair, and prosperous place and opportunities for all.
Ms. Maryse Guimond, UN Women Palestine Special Representative stressed the fact that technology and innovation are essential to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Transitions towards sustainability and digitalization have the potential to create millions of decent jobs for women that would put them on equal footing with men to achieve sustainable inclusive growth.
Mr. Youssef Habesch, IFC Resident Representative in the West Bank and Gaza stated that, “By investing in women in innovative technology sectors, we not only drive economic growth but also create job opportunities and build a resilient economy. Inclusive businesses can tap into a wider talent pool, unlocking their workforce's full potential and setting themselves up for success.”
Participating partners, the Ministry of National Economy (MoNE), PCMA, the National Bank and VITAS Company discussed their innovative models and solutions through technology to narrow the gender gap in terms of access to policies and services, including electronic business development platforms, e-banking services digital financial services and e-service packages and products, to enhance women and youth financial inclusion and access to sustainable and gender responsive services, with a focus on women and youth. Partners and young women and men participants recommended the importance of coordination of efforts at the national efforts, especially among partners introducing e-platforms and services and in light of the implementation of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy and as part of the ongoing strategic planning cycle for the Palestinian Government 2024-2029.
The event also saw three new partners commit to the WEPs initiative - PriceWaterHouse Coopers – Palestine, Arab Islamic Bank, and Petit pas center. This has increased the number of signatories to 19 in Palestine, with more organizations expected to join the WEPs network over the next year.
At the event, Ms. Raghd Alqam and Maryan Abed Rabbo, two university students and entrepreneurs and Ms. Amani Maadi, CEO of Palestine Information and Communications Technology Incubator (PICTI), presented their thoughts, solutions, and opinions on how to bridge the gender gap with creativity and digital technology, as part of the panel discussion moderated by Ms. Farah Zahalqa from PEX. They highlighted the importance on focusing on persons, including women and youth living in remote areas and making sure they have access to digital services, awareness and business development services and networking opportunities, in addition to focusing on challenging social norms and attitudes on women’s economic participation and entrepreneurial activities, especially young women.
The Ring the Bell for Gender Equality initiative is coordinated by IFC, Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, UN Global Compact, UN Women and The World Federation of Exchanges.
For more information please contact:
Mr. Ahmad Safi, Palestine Exchange via email: ahmad.safi@pex.ps
And Ms. Mandy Sahliya, UN Women, via email: mandy.sahliya@unwomen.org