"Ambassador Foley delivered the opening address at a conference entitled "Making the Business Case for Gender Diversity." The conference, co-organized by the U.S. Embassy and the American Chamber of Commerce, with the sponsorship of Morgan Stanley, attracted over 160 participants and significant media coverage.During her speech, Ambassador Foley stressed the importance of gender diversity in the workplace, both for private and public sectors, and encouraged the conference participants to take ideas from the conference and integrate them into their own work place environments.
Dr. Klára Dobrev took the podium as the keynote speaker. Dr. Dobrev presented the Norwegian example, demonstrating the importance of having family-friendly workplaces and flexible working hours to encourage families to have more children. Featured speaker Ilene Lang from Catalyst Inc. shared her company’s recent study, which found that businesses who hire more women perform better financially.
Panel discussions followed the main speakers. The first was a political panel, moderated by AmCham president Gusztav Bienerth, where participants from the four major parliamentary parties discussed the gender quota bill currently in Parliament. Most notably, this was the first time that representatives of all parties present unanimously expressed their support publicly for the gender quota proposal.
The second panel, moderated by Ilene Lang, focused on what businesses were doing to increase their gender diversity. Representatives from international companies with large numbers of employees discussed internal networks and strategies that support women in the workforce.
Energized by the conference, participants and speakers alike agreed that it had provided many insights to consider for positive steps forward on this important initiative."
Pictured: From left: Tibor Navracsics, Klára Sándor, Ambassador Foley, and Dr. Klára Dobrev (Embassy photo by Attila Németh)
Source:
U.S. Embassy
24.10.2007