The Diplomat
The Vice President of Colombia, Marta Lucía Ramírez, closed the first Bi-national Conference on Women in Business this week, defending the incorporation of women into management positions in companies as a “key factor” for development.
In addition to the Colombian Vice President, the event – jointly organised by CEOE and ProColombia in collaboration with the Secretary of State for Trade, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the ANDI – was attended by the Colombian Minister of Education, María Victoria Angulo, via videoconference; the Secretary of State for Trade, Xiana Méndez; the Secretary General of the IOE, Roberto Suárez; the President of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi; the President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet; the Permanent Secretary of CEIB, Narciso Casado; and the Vice President of the National Association of Colombian Entrepreneurs (ANDI), Paola Buendía.
During her speech, Marta Lucía Ramírez stated that the incorporation and participation of women in all areas of the economy is an absolute priority for the Government of Iván Duque because of their contribution to economic growth and the well-being of society. She recalled that 27% of female employment depends on foreign trade, according to an OECD study, and that women are the main clients of world trade because 70% of consumption decisions in households are made by them.
For his part, Antonio Garamendi assured that the CEOE works “directly so that more and more women can reach positions of responsibility in companies”, through the Promociona and Progresa programmes, and also has a programme “called Chicas Imparables (Unstoppable Girls) so that more and more women can begin their working career aspiring to leadership roles”. Likewise, José Luis Bonet affirmed that “the incorporation of women into management positions is a key factor in business development” and assured that it is fundamental “that the institutions be pioneers in the management of projects and programmes that raise the awareness of companies to implement effective, practical and innovative models of equality”.
For her part, Xiana Méndez stressed that “gender equality is a priority issue in the lines of work of the Secretariat of State for Trade and is being promoted both nationally and internationally” and Narciso Casado highlighted the promotion of female leadership through the inclusion of women in positions of high responsibility and the promotion of the presence of women in all business sectors through dialogue and negotiation. Likewise, Paola Buendía stressed that ANDI has given strategic importance to the issue of incorporating women and has promoted a programme of women on boards of directors with the support of the World Bank.
