From the Forum: Women in leadership positions can play a key role in reforms for a greener future

• This is the second joint event of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation

Nearly a third of Bulgarians believe that women in high leadership positions can contribute to a change in the regulatory requirements towards realizing the goals of the Green Deal more easily. This was shown in the results of a national survey conducted by the Trend agency on behalf of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria (CWBB) and funded by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The survey was conducted in the first half of October, and the results were presented at the second joint conference of the CWBB and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation under the name, “The Diverse Roles of Women in the Green Transition”.

In addition to initiating legislative changes, according to the respondents, women in leadership positions can accelerate the transition to the Green Deal through information and creating awareness (9% of the 288 respondents who responded positively) and by doing everything possible to ensure that the companies they lead comply with all measures to reduce harmful emissions (8% of the 288 respondents who answered positively).

These and other conclusions about the role of women in promoting and accelerating the Green Transition and how they can contribute to sustainable change through their diverse functions in the economy and society were discussed during the conference, which brought together nearly 100 leading representatives of the private and non-governmental sectors, education and social entrepreneurship. Members of CWBB and the Alumni Club of the organization, foreign ambassadors, representatives of professional organizations and like-minded people of the Council and its causes attended the event.

It turns out that the topic of the Green Deal and the EU Decarbonization Plan is considered a priority by Bulgarian society (according to nearly 60% of the respondents), and at the same time it is not so familiar as 67% of the respondents point out that they do not feel familiar with it. At the same time, nearly 30% of Bulgarians believe that the impact of the Green Deal on life in Bulgaria will be positive.

“Our goal is to enable companies and organizations already working towards this transition to share their practices and ideas and to inspire the members of our organization, as well as our many like-minded people and partners, to find their place in their diverse roles as leaders, entrepreneurs, parents, to make this transition sustainable together”, said Sonya Demireva, CWBB’s Administrative Director, at the opening.

The forum program included two panel discussions focused on key aspects of the Green Transition. The first panel, “Innovations in the Green Transition”, brought together representatives of leading companies in sectors such as energy, mining, technology, who talked about the good practices and innovations that enable the even fuller inclusion of women in the transformation to a more sustainable and future-oriented economy . The discussion was about how the changing context and transition to green and sustainable practices is changing stereotypes and creating new opportunities for women’s exposure and inclusion.

The second panel highlighted the diverse roles of women in the Green Transition – in business, in the family, in education, in social and public life. Important questions such as women’s impact on the accelerating transformation through a variety of roles in personal, professional and social contexts received answers. Participants shared good ideas and practices that could inspire more women to realize the opportunities they have and change perceptions towards the Green Transition in the family and other social systems they belong to.

The event was held with the support of Dundee Precious Metals, Unicredit Bulbank, Siemens Bulgaria and M-gaz EOOD.