IE Business School celebrates International Women´s Day

Participants in the inauguration of the event included Diego del Alcázar, President of IE, Vicente Moreno, President of Accenture, and Laura Ruiz de Galarreta, General Director of Gender and Diversity for the Madrid Region. Participants in the round table on the Present and Future of Women on Management Boards comprised Ana García Fau, President of the European Professional Women Network (EPWN), María Antonia Otero, Member of the Board of Jazztel, Monica Ridruejo, Member of the Board of Tecnocom S.A. of the Nostrum RNL S.A. group, and Member of IE's International Advisory Board, and Susana Rodríguez Vidarte, Member of the Board of BBVA, and Isabel Torremocha, Director of Operations (COO) in the Communications, Media and Technology (CMT) Sector for Europe, Africa, Middle East  and Latin America at Accenture, and  Member of the Board.  The panel was moderated by Celia de Anca, Director of IE's Center for Diversity, and by Fernando Barnuevo, President of IE's Alumni Association and Managing Director of Kleinwort Benson Advisers.

During her address, Laura Ruiz de Galarreta underscored the fact that women have taken major steps forward in their quest for equal opportunities, but there is still a long way to go. Ruiz de Galarreta reminded participants that although women comprise 72% of university student bodies, only 27% study technology-based degrees, just 24% of politicians are women, and the salary gap between women and men  currently stands at 17% according to Eurostat. The General Director of Gender and Diversity for the Madrid Region highlighted the importance of education for women and mentioned the Lidera Program run by the Madrid regional authorities to train women managers, run in collaboration with business schools. Some 4,000 women have already participated in the program, 500 of them at IE Business School.

Ana García Fau, President of the European Professional Women Network (EPWN) and CEO of Yell Publicidad-Páginas Amarillas, stressed that although half of Europe's university graduates are women, when they advance up the management ladder only 25% to 35% reach middle management level, and only 3.2% achieve senior management positions in large European companies. María Antonia Otero, member of Jazztel's management board, underlined the importance of building management boards made up of both men and women of different nationalities and different backgrounds, in order to enrich boards and have different perspectives on which to base decisions. She stressed that "Meritocracy is the key to success."