ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is proudly celebrating International Women's Day today, an annual celebration on 8 March of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. ACCA's Chief Executive, Ms. Helen Brand OBE said, 'Great progress has been made across the world to accelerate gender parity, but there is still work to be done to improve it. Women still only represent 22% of corporate leaders globally, with a further 33% of firms globally with no women in senior management at all.'
At present, ACCA has 480,000 students around the world studying hard to become professional accountants. 54% of them are female, a percentage that is growing year-on-year. With almost a quarter of a million women working towards a professional qualification, ACCA believes the pipeline of motivated, ambitious young women looking to embark on a career in business has never been healthier.
'Closing the gender gaps are crucial to the global economy's success continues Helen. "For female finance professionals who aspire to positions of leadership it is important that they find a role model which would help them see where the breadth and depth of female talent is in the organisation and spur them on. It is important to understand that corporate boards are crying out for diversity, and women are well positioned to be able to bring a different perspective and add value to the table of any organisation through their expertise.
We have been talking about gender inequality in business for far too long, and it is time for change. It will not happen overnight, but we can all take action to accelerate the pace of change and work towards more diversity, and I'm sure 2018 will be another year of continued improvement. Happy International Women's Day for 2017".-PR