In the framework of the World Investor Week, BYMA, Bolsas y Mercados Argentinos S.A., organized the panel discussion “More Women in Finance” with the purpose of exposing young people to the financial world for young professionals and the public in general.
The Word Investor Week is promoted internationally by OICV-IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions) and locally by the Argentine Securities Commission (CNV). Its purpose is to disclose the advantages of the Capital Market as a savings and investment tool, under the heading “Learn about the capital market so as to plan your future”.
For the panel “More Women in Finance” BYMA called prominent women in the financial world: Rocío Balestra, Director of the Argentine Securities Commission (CNV), Gabriela Saavedra, Leading Partner in Financial Services of KPMG, Laurence Loyer Mengin, Independent Director of Grupo Supervielle, Virginia Porcella, economic journalist, Clara Navarro Viola, Vice-President of Navarro Viola y CIA, Mónica Erpen, Director of IAMC, and Florencia Donovan, economic and financial journalist, as moderator.
Soledad Castro, Deputy General Manager of BYMA welcomed all participants with the phrase “Education is one of BYMA´s main foundations”. She added: “considering that women occupy an essential role in education and in knowledge transmission, and with the purpose of bringing the capital market closer to the society in general, we convoked this wonderful discussion panel, composed by women who have different roles in the financial world”.
The panelists highlighted the importance of women in the financial world and shared their experiences: “There is an increasing number of women working in the capital market since Finance basic logic is easy to understand. Women have a powerful weapon: common sense to take investment decisions”, explained Clara Navarro Viola, fostering education and investment in the capital market.
Mónica Erpen emphasized that “financial education is essential to increase women’s participation in the capital market” and provided statistics of the increasing amount of women in the free PRO.DI.BUR program (Capital Markets Promotion Program) of IAMC.
Virginia Porcella affirmed “To know about finance is not an innate quality, it is an acquired talent. We have to become involved, overcome the cultural barriers, there is a huge opportunity for women. We need more integration between our actions, our values and our beliefs. We have to makes investments more aligned with our feelings and beliefs.”
In line with these thoughts, Laurence Loyer explained the different investor profiles and affirmed that “there is a new type of investor that invests to cause a positive impact in society in environmental, social and good government affairs”.
For her part, Rocío Balestra, indicate that “Women can create value in the Financial world and provide a different perspective. As Argentine representative in the Corporate Governance Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), I constantly work to make issuers improve their Corporate Governance, including subjects related to sustainability and diversity in the Board of Directors. I make such efforts in the conviction that it is vital to offer security and transparency to investors and, in turn, companies must be aware of the impact of their business activities in society and in the world”.
Gabriela Saavedra, explained that “In Europe, although in the framework of Corporate Governance practices there are specific regulations that promote diversity, 70% of the financial institutions in Europe have Boards with no women´s participation. There is much to improve, to continue working on and to learn by training with the passion that distinguishes us to improve the financial market by promoting a greater diversity in the decision-making process”.
Gabriela Terminelli, from Women Corporate Directors of Argentina and representative of Vital Voices, closed the panel discussion “More Women in Finance” organized by BYMA, and highlighted that the financial world is giving more space to diversity within the organizations and, especially, to the role of women in the business decisions”.
“We want to thank BYMA for this opportunity to share our experiences in a world of blue suits, where it has been demonstrated that women represent fundamental interests that make improvements in the financial world”, affirmed Florencia Donovan, the moderator.
To obtain more information and to know the schedule of activities organized by BYMA in the World Investor Week, please click:
World Investor Week
Actividades de BYMA