On September 25, 2019, the IV Forum of the Kazenergy Women’s Energy Club “A Modern Image of Women’s Leadership in Energy” was held at the EXPO Congress Center in Nur-Sultan, dedicated to the topic of promoting the advancement of women in various fields – career, education, family.

In particular, according to kazenergy.com, David Szolosi, international expert in the field of Gender inequality, PwC, Switzerland, made a presentation “Best Practices in the Corporate Sector for Ensuring Equality of Women in the Workplace” at the forum.

PwC studies show that the pay gap between men and women is the result of many factors, including occupational segregation, bias against working mothers, and direct pay discrimination. In addition, things like racial prejudice, access to education, and age also affect payment for work done. To ensure the equality of women in the workplace and gender balance, the principle of diversity and inclusiveness of the workforce is required, which will ensure rapid and sustainable economic growth of companies and increase the well-being of the general population.

Meanwhile, the head of the Academy of Business in Central Asia, Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan Nataliya Kopylenko believes, “a high level of emotional intelligence helps better understand our colleagues and faster deal with the tasks, observing the deadlines.”

The forum participants also learned about the projects of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Kazakhstan aimed at developing gender policy. The presentation of the interim results of a joint study by Kazenergy and the EBRD “The Role of Women in the Energy Sector of the Republic of Kazakhstan” was given, which was delivered by the Executive Director for Human Capital Development of the Kazenergy Association Lyazzat Akhmurzina and Kirsten Newitt – Deputy Director of Ergon Associates.

Anna Börnermark, Deputy Director for Access to Services and Gender Problems, Gender and Economic Integration Group, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) spoke about the importance of gender diversity in companies, and the modern human resources policy of energy companies to support and empower women; the development of female leadership in enterprises.

We remind that the Kazakhstan Energy Week forum and the 12th Kazenergy Eurasian Forum are being held in the city of Nur-Sultan from September 23 to 29, 2019. Within the framework of the forum, a Forum on the Possibilities of Localizing Manufacturing and Developing Local Content will be held on September 27.