The Council of Women in Business was invited to advise on a new bill on equality between women and men, scheduled for the summer.

Together with the Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for budget and human resources Kristalina Georgieva, members of the Council participated in the first European debate on the subject, initiated by Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva in Sofia. The topic of the debate was “Women in Management – European Challenges”, and the discussion was joined by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs Ivaylo Kalfin.

“If you want to succeed in business, you must find where successful women are and hire them. This is good for the business, and not just for appearances,” said Kristalina Georgieva during the discussion, citing data from a study by Credit Suisse, according to which companies with at least one woman on its Board of Directors are traded 26% more than companies without women on the BoD. She also cited a McKinsey study whereby companies with women in management increased their value by about 17% compared to those without.

The discussion covered the issues of quotas for women, wage inequality, and pension inequality. Other topics included also good examples of the role of women in business and politics and the options for more flexible working hours and teleworking.

“When a woman takes a leadership position, it changes her; when many women do – it changes society,” said Kristalina Georgieva, adding that in her opinion Bulgaria, which has a serious demographic problem, should aim to have more women in management than the average for Europe.

Additionally, the Bulgarian EU commissioner supported one of the goals of the Council of Women in Business, i.e. creating conditions and support for girls to prompt them to think about their education and careers in “men only” jobs, such as microelectronics, innovation, and engineering specialties.

In terms of concrete next steps following the debate, the Council of Women in Business is committed to help Minister Ivaylo Kalfin regarding any future measures related to the working conditions for women.