Report : International Women’s Day in Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany, 7 March 2013

Ms Madi Sharma –Speaker for International Women’s Day at EWMD (European Women’s Management Development International Network) and Accenture.

To appreciate the role of women in our society, International Woman’s Day is celebrated worldwide on 8thMarch. It is a day to appreciate and give respect to all the women who are the essence of our lives. Itis a day to honour the life, grit and determination of women. The fastest way to change society is to mobilize the women of the world or as we say at WESTT“The Strength of a Nation lies in its Women! “Women are leaders – from the CEO to the housewife who raises her children and heads her household. Be it a mother, sister,wifeor colleague, women have impact in every phase of life.

Women’s Day is the day of commemoration of women as makers of history. Despite struggles of the past, more and more these days, women are able to walk shoulder to shoulder with men. And irrespective of gender, we must understand that International Women Day celebrates emancipation – because had it not been for women, free thinking would be impossible!

Most importantly Women’s Day is an opportunity to appreciate the remarkable contribution of women. International Women’s Day is a way to recognize the contribution made by all women across the world and in all walks of life. Today on International Women’s Day we specifically think of and respect all those women fleeing from violence in their homes or as a result of violence in their countries.

EWMD (European Women’s Management Development International Network) is an international network of professional women from all areas of business, education, politics and culture. Individuals as well as Corporate Members join the network and members are found in around 40 European cities with international members in the United States, South Africa and Asia. The network comprises of nearly 900 members.

EWMD has the vision to inspire people and organisations to be more diverse, open and supportive in the development of new career patterns for women and men. Their vision is to improve the quality of management with respect to people, children, age and the cultural diversity of Europe.

For International Women’s Day I was invited to speak to the women about the economic imperative of including women in the economy - female entrepreneurship and women on Boards following the adoption of the opinions in the EESC. I shared the workings of the committee and the fact that we welcomed input from our civil society partners as an essential part of our work. I received a glowing testimonial:

“Madi fills a room immediately with her vibrant personality and positive attitude. She has inspired our female members to overcome obstacles that might limit career progression by applying determination and a positive ‘can do’ attitude. It was a pleasure to have Madi with us and I can highly recommend her as a speaker as it is amazing to hear her reflections about her own personal development story. ” Ann-Kathrin Sauthoff-Bloch, EWMD Frankfurt, Germany (European Women’s Management Development International Network)

I was quickly whisked away from the EWMD event to a seminar for the female employees of Accenture, Germany, Austria, Switzerland. I again spoke on female entrepreneurship and women on Boards but also incorporated our work on social enterprises and valuing human capital within the workforce (EESC opinion INT/519). Accenture currently have an in-house project on developing social enterprises for women and I was able to directly connect the organisers with the people I had met in Luxembourg the week before who were working on social innovation and development.

Over dinner I spoke with several of the women on our work on Corporate Social Responsibility CSR and its value to community beyond the marketing brochures of the annual report of corporates.

Following up from the meeting I have connected both EWMD and Accenture with new networks, including some EESC members working on similar topics. I have also connected Accenture to the Cabinet of Commissioner Redding as we hope to endorse the commissioner's initiative on Women on Boards.

There is a real positive atmosphere on International Women's Day – but more and more there is a strong sense of doing business with ethics and supporting other women who are experiencing the challenges of development , be it in Europe or internationally. It is an honour to address these great women and share our work at the EESC.

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European Economic and Social Committee