“Including women in decision-making increases equality and development rates”: Marta Lucía Ramírez

On March 28, Vice-President and Chancellor, Marta Lucia Ramírez, participated in the Panel “The 50% Cabinet: Why Women Should Sit in Executive Government”, which was held within the framework of the World Government Summit in Dubai.

During her speech, she made an urgent call to continue to include gender equity not only in post-pandemic recovery programs, but also in fiscal, industrial, technological and long-term employment generation policies

“Although more women are taking on key positions in governments and countries are addressing gender equity through dynamic policy reforms that favor women in the public sector, men continue to lead not only in numbers, but in roles of power and decision-making,” the official warned.

Ramírez added that the numbers have shown that, by including women in decision-making processes, countries have been able to positively increase their equality and development rates.

She said that structural changes are needed so that women do not continue to be underrepresented and often discredited, “only in this way will women's 25.2% participation in parliaments around the world be exceeded and that in 119 countries there has never been a woman in a leadership position.”

According to UN Women, out of a total of 193 countries included in the Political Map, only 12 have women as presidents or prime ministers, representing 6.6% of women's participation. Only 20.5 per cent of the presidents of parliaments worldwide are women and, globally, only 21.2 per cent of ministerial positions are held by women.

In addition, women's representation on the international stage remains low. Of the 76 sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, 4 have been chaired by women, only one woman has been chair of the first Committee on Disarmament and International Security, and women continue to be underrepresented in technology or security spaces.

It is worth noting that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) demonstrated that, in 2 million companies in 34 countries, the entry of an additional woman into senior management positions or on the board of directors increased performance by 8 to 13 points, increasing corporate sustainability and generating greater confidence, and estimates that closing the gender gap could increase GDP by an average of 35%.

In the remaining days, the vice-chancellor will visit the Colombian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai and hold a meeting with the Colombian community in that country. On Tuesday 29th, he will participate in the Annual Investment Meeting -Annual Investment Meeting-, a debate between global leaders to improve the attraction of foreign investment in vital and promising sectors in the light of new global trends.

On Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, the Vice President and Chancellor will hold an important meeting with Masdar City executives, and will visit the Smart City Complex, the first city in the world specially designed to be eco-friendly and self-sufficient.

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