MTHULISI SIBANDA

JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) joined 34 other stock exchanges around the world in marking International Women’s Day.

This was done on Tuesday to raise awareness of gender equality and the need for transformation in the financial industry.

The initiative involved collaboration with the UN Global Compact South Africa Network / National Business Initiative, the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSE), UN Women, IFC, the World Federation of Exchanges and Women in ETFs.

JSE Director of Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Zeona Jacobs, opened the ceremony which included an insightful panel discussion on the United Nation’s Women Empowerment Principles. Public Protector, Advocate Thulisilie Madonsela, delivered the keynote
address.

One of the three panelists was Dr Mantsika Amelia Matooane, who currently sits on The JSE Board and is a non-executive director of JSE Limited.

Jacobs said embracing diversity in the workplace was a key strength for any company and a definite competitive advantage.

“Having inclusion at senior management level enables more strategic, out-of-the-box thinking and more efficient decision-making,” Jacobs said.

The JSE is a good example of this, as seven of ten exco members are women and 51 percent of our employees are female.

“Because the JSE is regarded as a leader in the financial industry, we are ideally positioned to be a catalyst for gender transformation in the sector.”

Jacobs said as a longstanding partner of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative and a member of the World Federation of Exchanges Sustainability Working Group, the JSE remained committed to promoting sustainable and equitable business.

“Being a part of significant global events such as these creates the opportunity for us to contextualise the debate for South Africa while expanding the global consensus on these issues.”

– CAJ News