Dear colleagues – this was forwarded by our partners in CoOPequity. Very important information – see the last note about Cooperatives and therefore FFPOs.
Let’s continue to focus strongly on women’s empowerment within our work at all levels!!
Jeff
It is increasingly recognized, stated and written that gender equality is an imperative for enrichment on both the socioeconomic and geopolitical levels. However, despite their significant input, women too often remain under-represented at all levels of organizations and governments. Recent research shows that:
1. Women account for an average of only 16 percent of the members of executive teams in the United States, 12 percent in the United Kingdom and 6 percent in Brazil.*
* McKinsey&Company, January 2015, Why diversity matters
2. Gender equality was a top-ten strategic priority for only 28 percent of companies in 2010, when one-third didn’t have it on the strategic agenda at all. *
* McKinsey&Company, November 2015, A CEO’s guide to gender equality
3. The World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts that, at the current pace of change, it will take 117 years to close the global gender gap.*
* World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report 2014
4. Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.*
* McKinsey&Company, January 2015, Why diversity matters
5. In the United Kingdom, greater gender diversity on the senior-executive team corresponded to the highest performance uplift in our data set: for every 10 percent increase in gender diversity, EBIT rose by 3.5 percent.*
* McKinsey&Company, January 2015, Why diversity matters
6. A McKinsey Global Institute report finds that $12 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025 by advancing women’s equality.*
* McKinsey&Company, September 2015, How advancing women’s equality can add $12 trillion to global growth
At the international level, the first-ever W20 took place in October 2015, with the objectives of creating gender inclusiveness and gender equality policy recommendations for the G20 countries. Ten policy recommendations were issued*:
* EY, 2016, Who holds the key to closing the skills gap?
In September 2015, Monique F. Leroux, Chair of the Board, President and CEO of Desjardins Group and President of the International Co-operative Alliance, took part in the G7 Forum for Dialogue with Women. She explained “(…) I am convinced, now more than ever, that cooperative enterprises provide key leverage to increase women’s economic power and give them a stronger voice to better serve their communities, be it in developing or developed countries.” Read the article.
The real contribution of cooperatives to women’s empowerment will be addressed during the 2016 Summit. A round table on how to redress inequalities will be held and concrete examples of the contribution of women will be presented.