"Women need to take charge of their finances early on", "the fund industry needs to become more female" and "financial equality needs open dialogue about money in the family and relationship" - these were some of the many central messages of the panel discussion during the anniversary celebration to which BNY Mellon Germany's women's network had invited its members and business contacts in Frankfurt.
The Women's Network WIN: Empowering Women @BNY Mellon
A decade has passed since the founding of the women's network WIN in Frankfurt. The network is part of a global initiative of the company that includes over 7,700 members and supporters and is active in 100 countries and 5 continents. Over the years, the network has given female employees of BNY Mellon a stage to exchange ideas with like-minded people and female role models, to experience career development as well as mentoring and to advance the common mission of gender equality. Within the WIN organisation, numerous Male Ally groups have been founded in recent years - also in Frankfurt - to jointly advance efforts towards gender parity.
WIN Frankfurt is a lively community in which people support and promote each other and stand up for equal opportunities. It has also become an integral part of BNY Mellon's corporate culture and value system and supports its corporate strategy in the long term. In addition to numerous internal and external information events, the local women's network also runs campaigns to promote young talent, coaching and mentoring, and is involved in external women's networks such as the Fondsfrauen and other support programmes.
Panel discussion with a topic that strikes a chord with the times
In addition to the festive part of the anniversary evening, the event focused on a panel discussion on the topic of "Financial products by women for women". With Katja Lammert (Chief Administration Officer, MEAG), Denise Kißner (Team Head & Senior Product Specialist / Co-Founder DWS Women of Women Fund & Female Finance, DWS), Anne Connelly (Founder, Fondsfrauen & herMoney) and Katarina Melvan (Branch Manager & Head of Asset Servicing Germany, BNY Mellon), four renowned speakers could be won for the panel discussion. Caterina Dattolo (Head of WIN Germany, BNY Mellon) guided the moderator through the evening and, together with the speakers, shed light on the complex of topics ranging from the causes of the gender investment gap, its far-reaching consequences for gender inequality in old-age provision as well as for the economy and society, to the need for the fund industry to become more female so that the needs of female customers in investment and provision are better understood and addressed.
While the lion's share of all women save, only one in eight invests in equities. If women invested at the same rate as men, the assets under management by individuals today - according to BNY Mellon Investment Management's study "The Road to Inclusive Investment" - would be at least an additional $3.22 trillion. Perhaps more importantly, women are more likely to make investments that have positive social and environmental impacts and are in line with their own values, meaning that there would be an inflow of $1.87 trillion in responsible investments if women invested at the same rate as men.
Among many valuable core messages of this energetic discussion of the speakers and the participants and attendees, one thus stands out in particular: not only do we need to attract more women to the financial sector, but we also need to target more women with the great products that are already available so that they invest in their future and additionally make a positive contribution to the environment and society.
Happy Birthday WIN!
What would an anniversary be without the opportunity to celebrate past successes and toast the future together? Over 100 participants gathered in Frankfurt on 19 June to celebrate this special milestone. It was an evening full of exciting discussions, nostalgia, laughing together and reaffirming the mission to work for more equal opportunities. There is still a long way to go to achieve parity: the WIN BNY Mellon women's network, for one, continues to roll up its sleeves to work towards this mission locally and globally.
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