CORRECTED: UN Global Compact joins partners to ring the bell for gender equality at more than 100 stock exchanges
United Nations Global Compact
10 min read
New York, NY, March 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CORRECTION: In the original version of this announcement issued earlier today, the locations of a number of stock exchanges were incorrectly listed. Please find an updated and corrected list of participating exchanges and organizations below. Please also note the total number has increased to 105.
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 2 March 2021 — For the seventh consecutive year, the UN Global Compact will participate in Ring the Bell for Gender Equality — a collaboration of stock exchanges around the world ringing opening or closing bells to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March and promote the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs).
Stock exchanges around the world are working with investors and businesses to take practical action to advance gender equality through listing requirements, voluntary guidance documents, investment products, internal policies and training and awareness raising. In March 2020, 77 exchanges rang their bells for gender equality. This year more than 100 stock exchanges are participating in the initiative and local partners are hosting virtual events around the world where in-person ringings are not safe due to the ongoing pandemic.
Ring the Bell for Gender Equality events around the world encourage participants to scale-up efforts to achieve gender equality in their markets, industries and organizations by adopting and implementing the Women's Empowerment Principles. A joint initiative of the UN Global Compact and UN Women, the WEPs provide a holistic roadmap to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. Private sector, civil society, Governments and the UN are working together to achieve gender equality targets and the other Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Commenting on the initiative, Sanda Ojiambo, CEO & Executive Director of the UN Global Compact said: “The Covid-19 pandemic risks reversing progress towards greater gender equality. I hope this year’s Ring the Bell for Gender Equality reminds business leaders that gender equality is a key driver of financial success and must be central to our efforts to build back better from this difficult time.”
Here is a list of participating exchanges and organisations:
Exchange/Organisation
Date of Event
Bolsas y Mercados Argentinos (BYMA)
11-Mar
Armenia Securities Exchange
TBD
Australian Securities Exchange
08-Mar
Chi-X Australia
TBD
Sydney Stock Exchange
04-Mar
Wiener Börse
08-Mar
Baku Stock Exchange
09-Mar
Bahrain Bourse
08-Mar
Dhaka Stock Exchange Ltd
14-Mar
Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange
05-Mar
Euronext Brussels
08-Mar
Banja Luka Stock Exchange
TBD
Botswana Stock Exchange
08-Mar
B3 - Brasil Bolsa Balcão
08-Mar
Bulgarian Stock Exchange
08-Mar
NEO Exchange
08-Mar
Toronto Stock Exchange
12-Mar
Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago
09-Mar
Shanghai Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Shenzhen Stock Exchange
05-Mar
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing
08-Mar (TBC)
Taipei Exchange
TBD
Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp.
TBD
Bolsa de Valores de Colombia
09-Mar
Bolsa Nacional de Valores
11-Mar
Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières S.A.
08-Mar
Zagreb Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Nasdaq Copenhagen
08-Mar
Bolsa de Valores de Quito
09-Mar
The Egyptian Exchange
09-Mar
Nasdaq Helsinki
08-Mar
Euronext Paris
08-Mar
Georgian Stock Exchange
10-Mar
Deutsche Börse AG
08-Mar
Ghana Stock Exchange
10-Mar
Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX)
08-Mar
The National Stock Exchange
TBD
Bolsa de Valores Honduras
12-Mar
Nasdaq Iceland
08-Mar
Bombay Stock Exchange
08-Mar
National Stock Exchange of India Limited
08-Mar
Indonesia Stock Exchange
09-Mar
Tehran Stock Exchange
Last 2 days
Euronext Dublin
08-Mar
Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Borsa Italiana
08-Mar
Jamaica Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Japan Exchange Group, Inc.
08-Mar
Amman Stock Exchange
TBD
Kazakhstan Stock Exchange
05-Mar
Nairobi Securities Exchange
11-Mar
Boursa Kuwait
08-Mar
Kyrgyz Stock Exchange CJSC
10-Mar
Beirut Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Luxembourg Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Macedonian Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Bursa Malaysia
08-Mar
Malta Stock Exchange
08-Mar
BIVA (Bolsa Institucional de Valores)
08-Mar
Bolsa Mexicana de Valores
09-Mar
Bourse de Casablanca
TBD
Namibian Stock Exchange
TBD
Nepal Stock Exchange Limited
TBD
Euronext Amsterdam
08-Mar
NZX Limited
08-Mar
FMDQ Securities Exchange PLC
08-Mar
Nigerian Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Oslo Børs
08-Mar
Pakistan Stock Exchange
TBD
Palestine Exchange
10-Mar
Bolsa de Valores y Productos de Assuncion S.A.
TBD
Bolsa de Valores de Panama S.A.
10-Mar
Bolsa de Valores de Lima
TBD
The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc.
08-Mar
Warsaw Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Euronext Lisbon
08-Mar
Qatar Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Bucharest Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Moscow Exchange
9-10 March
Rwanda Stock Exchange
TBD
Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul)
08-Mar
Belgrade Stock Exchange
11-Mar
Singapore Exchange
08-Mar
Johannesburg Stock Exchange
08-Mar
BME - Bolsas y Mercados Españoles
08-Mar
Colombo Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Nasdaq Stockholm
08-Mar
SIX Swiss Exchange
08-Mar
Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Stock Exchange of Thailand
08-Mar
Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange
8-9 or 10 Mar
Tunis Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Uganda Securities Exchange
TBD
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange
08-Mar
Dubai Financial Market
08-Mar
Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange
08-Mar
Aquis Exchange PLC
08-Mar
London Stock Exchange Group
08-Mar
Bolsa de Valores de Montevideo
05-Mar
Cboe Global Markets
08-Mar
Intercontinental Exchange | NYSE
04-Mar
Nasdaq - US
01-Mar
The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC)
08-Mar
Hochiminh Stock Exchange
08-Mar
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange
08-Mar
About the Partner Organisations:
United Nations Global Compact
As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With more than 12,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and 69 Local Networks, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative — one Global Compact uniting business for a better world.
For more information, follow @globalcompact on social media and visit our website at unglobalcompact.org.
Women in ETFs (WE)
Women in ETFs is the first women’s group for the ETF industry. Founded in January 2014, WE is a non-profit organization that brings together over 5,600 members, including women and men, in chapters in major financial centers across the United States, Canada, EMEA and Asia Pacific to: 1) CONNECT: Create opportunities for professional advancement of women by expanding connections among women and men in the ETF industry; 2) SUPPORT: Offer guidance for the current and next generation of women in ETFs and 3) INSPIRE: WE achieves this by organizing events at our chapters globally that support our goals of education, networking, philanthropy and idea sharing across the industry and beyond.
IFC – a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group – is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2020, we invested more than $22 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
The Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative
The SSE initiative is a peer-to-peer learning platform for exploring how exchanges, in collaboration with investors, regulators, and companies, can enhance corporate transparency - and ultimately performance - on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) issues and encourage sustainable investment. The SSE initiative is convened by four organizations - the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN Global Compact, the UN Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). To learn more about becoming a Partner Stock Exchange or participating as a regulator or investor, visit sseinitiative.org Follow us on Twitter: @sseinitiative
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on four strategic priorities: Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems; Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy; All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence; Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience, and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality. Learn more at: http://www.unwomen.org and https://www.empowerwomen.org/en/weps/about. Follow us on Twitter @UN_Women @Empower_Women and on LinkedIn: UN Women
The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE):
Established in 1961, the WFE is the global industry association for exchanges and clearing houses. Headquartered in London, it represents over 250 market infrastructure providers, including standalone CCPs that are not part of exchange groups. Of our members, 37% are in Asia-Pacific, 43% in EMEA and 20% in the Americas. WFE’s 57 member CCPs collectively ensure that risk takers post some $800bn (equivalent) of resources to back their positions, in the form of initial margin and default fund requirements. WFE exchanges, meanwhile, are home to nearly 48,000 listed companies, and the market capitalisation of these entities is over $74.4 trillion (at end 2018); around $95 trillion (EOB) in trading annually passes through the infrastructures WFE members safeguard (at end 2018). The WFE is the definitive source for exchange-traded statistics, and publishes over 350 market data indicators. Its free statistics database stretches back more than 40 years, and provides information and insight into developments on global exchanges. The WFE works with standard-setters, policy makers, regulators and government organisations around the world to support and promote the development of fair, transparent, stable and efficient markets. The WFE shares regulatory authorities’ goals of ensuring the safety and soundness of the global financial system. With extensive experience of developing and enforcing high standards of conduct, the WFE and its members support an orderly, secure, fair and transparent environment for investors; for companies that raise capital; and for all who deal with financial risk. We seek outcomes that maximise the common good, consumer confidence and economic growth. And we engage with policy makers and regulators in an open, collaborative way, reflecting the central, public role that exchanges and CCPs play in a globally integrated financial system. Follow us on Twitter @TheWFE and LinkedIn: The World Federation of Exchanges.
CONTACT: UN Global Compact Media United Nations Global Compact (212) 907-1301 media@unglobalcompact.org