The World Federation of Exchanges & five partner organisations bring together 80 exchanges to ‘Ring the Bell for Gender Equality’

Friday 8 March 2019, London – The World Federation of Exchanges ("WFE"), the global industry group for exchanges and CCPs, is pleased to confirm that its member exchanges are taking part in the fifth annual 'Ring the Bell for Gender Equality' initiative.

For the fifth consecutive year, a global collaboration across 85 exchanges around the world plan to ring opening or closing bells to celebrate International Women’s Day 2019 (Friday 8 March 2019).

The events are a partnership between IFC, Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, UN Global Compact,UN Women, the World Federation of Exchanges and Women in ETFs, to raise awareness about the business case for women’s economic empowerment and the opportunities for the private sector to advance gender equality and sustainable development.

The UN Women’s theme for International Women’s Day 2019 is ‘Think equal, build smart, innovate for change’. The theme focuses on innovative ways in which the private sector can advance gender equality and women’s empowerment, particularly in the areas of social protection systems, access to public services, and sustainable infrastructure.

In addition to the bell ringing events, the six bell ringing partner organisations applaud the work done to date, and encourage exchanges to take further action to improve gender equality in their markets. Recommended actions include signing the CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs); promoting gender equality in the workforce; introducing gender equality standards and supporting gender-equality themed investment products; providing guidance, training, mentoring, and education to market participants on gender equality and the role of gender diversity in business performance; and encouraging or requiring listed companies to publicly report on relevant gender metrics.

In March 2018, a record 65 exchanges rang their bells for gender equality, and this year looks set to be even bigger, with 85 exchanges confirmed as taking part.

Nandini Sukumar, CEO, WFE said: “We are pleased so many WFE members are participating in this important initiative, which has gone from strength to strength over the past five years. We are proud to raise awareness about this essential social and economic issue, both within the financial sector, and on a wider, global scale.”

Exchanges taking part this year:

Country	Stock Exchange	Date of Event	Opening/Closing
Argentina	Bolsas y Mercados Argentinos (BYMA)	12th March	Opening
Armenia	Armenia Securities Exchange	12th March	Opening
Australia	Australian Securities Exchange	8th March	Opening
Bahrain	Bahrain Bourse	14th March	TBC
Bangladesh	Chittagong Stock Exchange	7th March
Bangladesh	Dhaka Stock Exchange	12th March	Opening
Belgium	Euronext Brussels	8th March	Opening
Belarus	Belarusian currency and stock exchange	7th March	Opening
Brazil	B3	8th March	Opening
Canada	Aequitas NEO Exchange	8th March	Opening
Canada	TMX	8th March	Opening
Chile	Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago	21st March	TBC
Colombia	Bolsa de Valores de Colombia	16th May	Opening
Costa Rica	Bolsa Nacional de Valores	11th March	Closing
Croatia	Zagreb Stock Exchange	8th March
Denmark	Nasdaq Copenhagen	8th March	Opening
Dominican Republic	Bolsa de Valores de la República Dominicana	15th March	Closing
Egypt	The Egyptian Exchange	4th March	Opening
Estonia	Nasdaq Tallinn	8th March	Opening
Ethiopia	Ethiopia Stock Exchange	6th March	Closing
Fiji	South Pacific Stock Exchange	8th March	Opening
Finland	Nasdaq Helsinki	8th March	Opening
France	Euronext Paris	8th March	Opening
Georgia	Georgian Stock Exchange	12th March	Closing
Germany	Deutsche Börse	8th March	Opening
Greece	Athens Stock Exchange	8th March
HK	Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing	8th March	Opening
Iceland	Nasdaq Iceland	8th March	Opening
India	Bombay Stock Exchange	8th March	Closing
India	National Stock Exchange of India	8th March	Closing
Indonesia	Indonesia Stock Exchange	13th March	TBC
Iraq	Iraq Stock Exchange	10th March	Opening
Ireland	Euronext Dublin	8th March	Opening
Israel	Tel Aviv Stock Exchange	3rd March	Opening
Italy	Borsa Italiana	8th March	Opening
Jamaica	Jamaica Stock Exchange	8th March	Opening
Japan	Japan Exchange Group	8th March	Opening
Kazakhstan	Kazakhstan Stock Exchange	7th March	Closing
Kenya	Nairobi Securities Exchange	8th March	Opening
Kuwait	Boursa Kuwait	7th March	Closing
Latvia	Nasdaq Riga	8th March	Opening
Lebanon	Beirut Stock Exchange	7th March	Closing
Lithuania	Nasdaq Vilnius	8th March	Opening
Luxembourg	Luxembourg Stock Exchange	8th March
Malaysia	Bursa Malaysia	14th March	Opening
Mexico	Bolsa Mexicana de Valores	8th March	Opening
Mongolia	Mongolian Stock Exchange	7th March	Opening
Morocco	Casablanca Stock Exchange	8th March	Opening
Myanmar	Yangon Stock Exchange	8th March	Closing
Nepal	Nepal Stock Exchange Limited	8th March
Netherlands	Euronext Amsterdam	8th March	Opening
Nigeria	The Nigerian Stock Exchange	8th March	Closing
Norway	Oslo Bors	8th March
Pakistan	Pakistan Stock Exchange	8th March	Opening
Palestine	Palestine Exchange	11th March	TBC
Panama	Bolsa de Panama	15th March	TBC
Peru	Bolsa de Valores de Lima	12th March	Opening
Philippines	Philippine Stock Exchange	8th March	Closing
Poland	Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE)	8th March	Opening
Portugal	Euronext Lisbon	8th March
Qatar	Qatar Stock Exchange	10th March	Opening
Regional*	BRVM Stock Exchange	8th March	Opening
Romania	Bucharest Stock Exchange	8th March	Opening
Russia	Moscow Exchange	12th March	Opening
Rwanda	Rwanda Stock Exchange	10th March	Opening
Saudi Arabia	Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul)	7th March
Serbia	Belgrade Stock Exchange	14th March	TBC
Singapore	Singapore Exchange	5th March	Closing
Slovenia	Ljubljana Stock Exchange	8th March
South Africa	Johannesburg Stock Exchange	8th March	Opening
Spain	Bolsas y Mercados Españoles	8th March
Sri Lanka	Colombo Stock Exchange	7th March
Sweden	Nasdaq Stockholm	8th March	Opening
Switzerland	SIX Swiss Exchange	8th March	Opening
Tanzania	Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange PLC	8th March
Tunisia	Tunis Stock Exchange	8th March
Turkey	Borsa Istanbul	8th March	Opening
Uganda	Uganda Securities Exchange	w/c 17th March	TBC
UK	London Stock Exchange	12th March	Opening
United Arab Emirates	Dubai Financial Market	8th March	Opening
US	Cboe	8th March	Opening
US	IEX	8th March	Opening
US	Nasdaq	7th March	Closing
US	NYSE	5th March	Opening
Yemen	Yemen Stock Exchange	14th March	Opening

About the Partner Organizations:

The World Federation of Exchanges 

Established in 1961, the WFE is the global industry association for exchanges and clearing houses. Headquartered in London, it represents over 250 market infrastructure providers, including standalone CCPs that are not part of exchange groups. Of our members, 37% are in Asia-Pacific, 43% in EMEA and 20% in the Americas. WFE exchanges are home to nearly 48,000 listed companies, and the market capitalisation of these entities is over $70.2 trillion; around $95 trillion (EOB) in trading annually passes through the infrastructures WFE members safeguard (at end 2018). The WFE is the definitive source for exchange-traded statistics, and publishes over 350 market data indicators. Its free statistics database stretches back more than 40 years, and provides information and insight into developments on global exchanges. The WFE works with standard-setters, policy makers, regulators and government organisations around the world to support and promote the development of fair, transparent, stable and efficient markets. The WFE shares regulatory authorities’ goals of ensuring the safety and soundness of the global financial system. With extensive experience of developing and enforcing high standards of conduct, the WFE and its members support an orderly, secure, fair and transparent environment for investors; for companies that raise capital; and for all who deal with financial risk. We seek outcomes that maximise the common good, consumer confidence and economic growth. And we engage with policy makers and regulators in an open, collaborative way, reflecting the central, public role that exchanges and CCPs play in a globally integrated financial system. Follow us on Twitter @TheWFE and LinkedIn: The World Federation of Exchanges 

IFC 


IFC - a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group - is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In fiscal year 2018, we delivered more than $23 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to help end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org. Follow us on Twitter: @IFC_org

The Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative

The SSE initiative is a peer-to-peer learning platform for exploring how exchanges, in collaboration with investors, regulators, and companies, can enhance corporate transparency - and ultimately performance - on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) issues and encourage sustainable investment. The SSE initiative is convened by four organizations - the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN Global Compact, the UN Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). To learn more about becoming a Partner Stock Exchange or participating as a regulator or investor, visit sseinitiative.org Follow us on Twitter: @sseinitiative

United Nations Global Compact

As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Launched in 2000, the mandate of the UN Global Compact is to guide and support the global business community in advancing UN goals and values through responsible corporate practices. With more than 9,500 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and more than 70 Local Networks, it is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world. For more information, follow @globalcompact on social media and visit our website at www.unglobalcompact.org.

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)

UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on four strategic priorities: Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems; Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy; All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence; Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience, and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality. Learn more at: http://www.unwomen.org and https://www.empowerwomen.org/en/weps/about. Follow us on Twitter @UN_Women @Empower_Women and on LinkedIn: UN Women

Women in ETFs (WE)

Women in ETFs is the first women’s group for the ETF industry. Founded in January 2014, WE is a non-profit organization that brings together over 4,500 members, including women and men, in chapters in major financial centers across the United States, Canada, EMEA and Asia Pacific to: 1) CONNECT: Create opportunities for professional advancement of women by expanding connections among women and men in the ETF industry; 2) SUPPORT: Offer guidance for the current and next generation of women in ETFs and 3) INSPIRE: WE achieves this by organizing events at our chapters globally that support our goals of education, networking, philanthropy and idea sharing across the industry and beyond. For more information, visit: www.womeninetfs.com to learn more, join, or sponsor. Follow us on Twitter: @WomeninETFs and on Linkedin: Women in ETFs

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