On the Ninth of March 2016 Amman Stock Exchange(ASE), hosted the 2nd Annual Celebration of the Gender Equality Initiative in Jordan "2016 Ringing Bell for Gender Equality Stock Exchange Initiative" which was organized by the ASE in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), throughout ringing the bell of starting the trading session at the ASE on celebration of Women's International Day in the presence of the CEO of the ASE Mr. Nader Azar, H.E Mr. Mohammed Saleh Al Hourani, the Chairman of Jordan Securities Commission(JSC), Dr. Fadi Khalaf the General Secretary of Arab Federation of Exchanges(AFE), and Dr. Yahya al-Husseini - Corporate Governance Officer - International Finance Corporation in Jordan (IFC), Mr. Giuseppe Balseto Representative , UN women countryOffice for Jordan and H.E Mr. Reem Badran, the Chairwoman of Alhura Company for Management & Business Development, Ms. Taghreed Al-Nafisi, the President and CEO of Al-Multaqaa Brokerage and Investment Company, and Ms. Oraib Qabbaj, Chief Operations Officer, Jordan Institute of Directors (JIOD), and a number of public figures, brokerage firms , and representatives of the capital market institutions.
Mr. Azar declared that hosting this celebration comes in the belief of raising awareness in gender equality in the field of sustainable development and economic activity. This celebration also aims at raising awareness of the importance of promoting gender equality in the private sector as well as encouraging business leaders around the world to make serious steps to empower women in the work place and society
Mr. Azar also stressed on the ASE interest in empowering women in carrying a leading duties in the Jordanian capital market, where the ASE believes of the important role of women in promoting economic activity and participation in labor market and in its ability to development and creativity. Accordingly, the percentage of women's contribution in the human force in the ASE has risen from 15% since establishing the ASE in 1999 reaching more than 48% as of today. Also, women hold more than 28% of the leadership positions in the executive management of the ASE
During the ceremony, the participants gave speeches about the importance of empowering women in participation in economic activities, in addition to view report prepared by IFC on the impact of Gender Diversity on the Economic Performance of Companies in Jordan. Where the result showed that the listed companies characterized by the women representation on its board have achieved better financial results than those that did not have, where the celebrants rang the bell on the beginning of the trading session to celebrate International Women's Day and as a recognition in its active contribution in all economic, social and political aspects.
It is worth mentioning, that this initiative is an important international event adopted by a group of global parties in the field of financial markets, namely:
UN Global Compact, UN women, Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, World Federation of Exchanges و Women in ETFs, and it is launch in various countries around the world to celebrate International Women's Day.