Women in ETFs (WE)—the first women’s group for the ETF industry—has partnered with eight exchanges worldwide to honor International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8.
WE was founded in January 2014, and has eight chapters in the United States, Europe, Canada and its newest chapter in Asia Pacific.
The bell ringing celebrations will include WE leadership, corporate sponsors, and members, and will take place from March 2-12 in the following global exchanges:
Chicago Board Options Exchange Monday, March 2
London Stock Exchange Friday, March 6
Euronext Friday, March 6
Australian Stock Exchange Friday, March 6
New York Stock Exchange Monday, March 9
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) Monday, March 9
Deutsche Börse Monday, March 9
SIX Swiss Exchange Thursday, March 12
“There is a natural synergy for WE to celebrate International Women’s Day,” said Deborah Fuhr, WE Founder and Managing Partner of ETFGI. “Our mission is to further the careers of women today by leveraging our collective skill and ambition,” continued Fuhr.
“Fewer than 20% of women occupy senior management roles in Fortune 500 companies and even fewer act as CEOs[1],” said Sue Thompson, WE’s Co-President and Founder and Senior Advisor to BlackRock. “These bell ringing ceremonies symbolize the increasing importance of women’s participation in the capital markets, generally and in the exchange traded fund industry, specifically,” continued Thompson.
“Research shows that women’s presence in leadership, including in management of publicly traded companies, is often linked to stronger management of environmental, social and governance-related risks[2],” said Joanne Hill, WE’s Co-President and Founder, and ProShares Head of Institutional Investment Strategy.
“Make It Happen” is the 2015 theme for International Women’s Day encouraging effective action for advancing and recognizing women. The first International Women's Day was held in 1911. Thousands of events occur to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women. Organizations, governments, charities, educational institutions, women's groups, corporations and the media celebrate the day.
WE is open to women and men who want to help “make it happen” for women working in the ETF eco-system which includes over 230 firms sponsoring ETFs/ETPs, over 60 exchanges, over 220 market makers and authorized participants, over 130 index providers, custodians, law firms, accounting firms etc., many of whom are represented in WE’s 700 and growing membership.
At the end of 2014 the Global ETF/ETP industry had 5,581 ETFs/ETPs, with 10,771 listings, assets of US$2.785 trillion, from 239 providers on 62 exchanges in 50 countries source ETFGI.
[1] Catalyst. Quick Take: Women in Financial Services. New York: Catalyst, March 3, 2014
[2] Linda Eling-Lee, Damion Rallis, Matt Moscardi, MSCI ESG Research: 2014 Survey of Women on Boards (November 2014)