The theme of the 11th European Days of Meetings and Friendship in San Marino from 13th-15th September 2019 was “Women in the Economy”.
The intention was to highlight the influence of women in the economic sphere through contributions and theoretical elaborations from international experts, opinion leaders and journalists.
The premise is that the more women entering the job market, the higher the economic growth of a country. Based on this theory, employing women is now the most important driver for the development of the global economy.
Increasing employment of women and making full use of their talents and skills are decisive factors in producing major economic growth, high fertility rates, better material security for families, significant support for pension systems, and greater demand for services through the creation of more jobs.
While it is true that it is now easier for women to compete with male colleagues during the initial stages of their careers, thanks to their higher education today, permanence in the labour market still remains very difficult for women.
Despite their academic and professional qualifications and their capacity for leadership, women continue to be under-represented on company boards and in top positions in companies, politics and institutions.
These are some of the basic questions addressed during the working sessions of the San Marino Days. We urgently need to send strong signals and to discuss concrete measures and awareness-raising strategies at all levels in order to change the corporate culture.
With “WE STAND UP FOR WOMEN” European Soroptimists are ready to confront
the issue and to act on all levels.
Marie Jeanne Bosia
Past SIE and SI President