Within the framework of the Thematic Committee “Gender Mainstreaming and Women Empowerment” set up under the project EBSOMED, BUSINESSMED organized on December 18, 2020 a Webinar aiming at presenting the strategic orientations the mission and the first conclusions and publications along with the objectives of the study carried out by this Committee regarding the gender dimension in the target countries

Gender mainstreaming has been considered in the Mediterranean countries as a symbol of pride and as a priority since always. Yet, women are still under-represented in boardrooms across all industries, and though there are signs of improvement, a glass ceiling continues to exist even within the Boardroom hierarchy. The causes for the under-representation of women in decision-making processes and positions are multiple and complex.

Many studies revealed that the advancement of women in leadership and management is integral to the growth and success of companies. With the evolution of labour markets, the high educational and skill levels of women and their growing role in the economies, women today hold a wealth of talent and resources that can be tapped by companies.

Following these findings, the Committee “Gender Mainstreaming and women empowerment” has been created in the framework of the EBSOMED project with the aim to join the forces to promote gender diversity in the Euro-Mediterranean Region with a special focus on women in board as it’s a growing necessity for companies to thrive and grow in today’s environment.

  After two face-to-face meetings organized between 2018 /2019 and several online workshops between the members of the committee and the chosen expert, BUSINESSMED secretariat decided, due to the sanitarian situation, that the publication of the first results and the states of progress would take place during an online webinar.

During the webinar, the committee president presented the commission’s mission and the purpose of the study by giving insights into the gender mainstreaming process in the target countries and challenges ahead. The different discussions highlighted gender equality policies and role of women in the post-Covid-19 recovery in the Mediterranean and presented good practices favouring gender diversity and measuring gender diversity across industries in the region. It was also the occasion to present the first results of the study and the factsheet elaborated following the research phase of the committee.