National Conference “Women, Soft Power of Business”

The future belongs to women not only in politics but also in business, said Tomislav Donchev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in charge of EU funds and economic policy.

“Bulgaria should do its homework as we are still the only EU country without gender equality legislation,” said in a special video Ivaylo Kalfin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor and Social Policy, during the national conference “Women, Soft Power of Business” of Manager Magazine. The conference is organized with the support of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria, whose members are leading managers and representatives of companies and organizations in the country.
According to Ivaylo Kalfin, it is a fact that “women receive lower incomes for doing the same work as men” and that “there are many things to improve in creating opportunities for raising children in our country.”
He added that the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy has drafted a gender equality bill and that he relied on the opinion of the Council of Women in Business, Manager Magazine, and all who want women to be equal and to be able to combine a successful career with having children. According to him, besides the equal rights bill, another important topic is the equality in pay between men and women.
He added that there was need to consider flexible working hours, and more opportunities for social services. “Let’s help women so that they have an incentive to return to work after childbirth, but also so that there are conditions for working women to have more children,” Minister Kalfin said further.
“Having a balanced board of men and women is not only a matter of equality; it is a business matter of revenues and expenses. If the structure of the Management Board does not reflect society, the company would not work effectively for this community,” said Tsvetanka Mincheva, Head of Retail Banking and member of the Management Board of UniCredit Bulbank. As a representative of the Council of Women in Business, she inaugurated the conference, together with the editor-in-chief of Manager Magazine Maxim Meyer and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in charge of EU funds and economic policy Tomislav Donchev.
“The Council of Women in Business has two main objectives: to support women in business to take on new challenges, to develop and grow, on which we are working with the Leadership Academy, whereas the second is the development of young people in Bulgaria, supporting education and opportunities we could give them here, in Bulgaria.” She also said that more than 40 women have already completed the first Leadership Academy of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria and the second class would launch in late May. In addition, the women from the Leadership Academy have joined the mentoring program of the Council.
“I would be glad to be invited to the academy,” said Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev, reiterating his forecast of years ago: “The future belongs to women not only in politics but also in business. Undoubtedly, women are productive because they possess emotional intelligence and adapt easily, in contrast to the sometimes disastrous straightforwardness of men.” According to him, it is more important to talk about best practices, and not about men or women.
“Equality on the boards of the companies through the introduction of quotas and achieving equality in pay are the two main topics on which the Council of Women in Business has prepared very concrete proposals for the bill,” said Lidia Shuleva, Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria in the period 2001-2005 and Head of the Council of Women in Business’ equality bill working group. “It is important to know that we support the idea of ​​equality not only for women but also for men, so that quotas apply to them as well,” she added. “The philosophy behind the proposals of the Council fully supports the creation of real incentives for working parents, i.e., not only for women but for both parents, for people who want to have children and continue to work,” said Shuleva.
“Currently, women who start working before the end of their paid leave are discriminated against. Therefore, our proposal is to eliminate this injustice and support working parents,” Lidia Shuleva said.
“The proposals sound perfectly reasonable,” said Minister Donchev. He expressed concerns that it would be difficult to fill the quota for men at the ministry.
“I am somewhat hesitant regarding the topic of board quotas. Undoubtedly, this is a chance for women to show what they can. It is important, however, that successful women in managerial positions fill them as a result of natural competition. I think that even for the ladies it would be a matter of confidence,” said Tomislav Donchev.
Asked what Bulgaria could do for women, he said: “the government is lacking in the way it supports women to meet the challenges of their role in the family, aiding them in the commitment, the care, and the pleasure of being mothers.” According to him, the government and society as a whole are in debt to women. “They need to get support so they can be real women and this is not only a question of legislation,” said Minister Donchev. “Usually, behind every successful woman there is a man that supports them,” said Tomislav Donchev.
“The balance in the family plays an important role,” agreed Tsvetanka Mincheva. As part of the board of the largest Bulgarian bank and a manager that runs a team of over 2,000 people, she said that the qualities she looks for when hiring differ from gender. “I am looking for purposefulness, qualities, desire to invest their energy and efforts to do what needs to be done. A person has different roles they should play well. If they are doing well, they have a chance to be recognized for their work and achieve success,” said Tsvetanka Mincheva.
Successful female managers from various companies in the country shared their experience with the participants of the conference, which took place at Grand Hotel Sofia.
The Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria is a public-benefit non-profit organization. Its members are leading managers and representatives of companies and organizations in the country. The goals of the Council include sharing best practices and programs to promote the professional development of women in small and medium businesses and their rise to managerial positions; developing and promoting professional values ​​in civil society, education, science, culture, engineering and technology; supporting young professionals and talents to reach their potential in Bulgaria, and supporting disadvantaged young people in their education.

More information about the Council of Women in Business:
www.womeninbusiness.bg
www.facebook.com/CouncilWBB