Companies, which appreciate the economic and leadership potential of the female employees are better prepared for the markets of the future. Around this opinion united the Board of Women in Business in Bulgaria and the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Mrs. Elzbieta Bienkowska who they met in Brussels.

The delegation of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria was on a two-day working visit to Brussels at the invitation of MEP Maria Gabriel and Eva Paunova ( EPP), Filiz Hyusmenova and Iskra Mihaylova (ALDE). The delegation includes 13 businesswomen, representatives of some of the most successful companies in Bulgaria from the technology sector, finance and banking, hospitality and business consulting. The visit included 10 business meetings with influential politicians and NGO representatives at European level organized by the MEPs.

The chairperson of the Executive Board of CWBB, Dr. eng. Boryana Manolova pointed out that there are many studies, according to which the participation of women in the management of companies contribute to their stability and high financial results. According to a survey of the American non-governmental organization Catalyst, companies from the Fortune 500 list with the highest number of women in leadership have at least 16% higher return on sales than those with a smaller share of women on management positions. The difference increases even more in terms of return on invested capital, where companies with more women on the boards show an average 26 percent better performance.

Ms. Bienkowska in turn said that the cooperation between different sectors, politics, business and NGOs is crucial for the development of the economy of the future. In this respect, the European Commission plans next year to create a platform for Business Angels for Women Entrepreneurs. The commissioner said that the sharing of best practices should also go hand in hand with the sharing of not-so- positive experiences, based on which to draw conclusions about the necessary changes.

The jobs of the future and the necessary for them skills the delegation discussed with Ann Mettler, Head of the European Commission’s new European Political Strategy Centre. According to her an expansion of the use of alternative working time models and automation of routine work are expected. Part of the challenges of the future in this area according to her we will be able to solve with more confidence in our own abilities and thinking in an unconventional way.

During the second day of the working visit of the delegation of the Council in Brussels the participants held talks with Antonio López – Istúriz, MEP and Secretary-General of the European People’s Party and Susan Danger, the Managing Director of the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmCham).