Women celebrate success

Business leaders entrepreneurs and high-level professionals got together to celebrate the ladies that make a difference in various sectors of the economy and contribute to the country's general development. The 2020 edition of Business Arena's Most Admired Business Women Awards Gala recognized women's success and achievements in the workplace, their creativity and leadership and their vital contribution to the success of business and banking activities throughout Romania.

And while the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the business world on an unprecedented scale, experts have suggested that women's contribution to the business recovery effort is going to be essential. In Grant Thornton's Women in Business 2020 report, Francesca Lagerberg, global leader - network capabilities for Grant Thornton International Ltd., emphasizes that diversity of thinking at senior management level is extremely important for business success.

"Why does having more women in senior management matter? It matters because of the sheer value you get from diversity of thinking. If you have a group of people leading a firm who come from a similar background, similar culture, the same gender, you're missing something in the market. You need diversity to look at the world through a broader lens that is also likely to be more reflective of the clients you have and the issues and opportunities they face," said Francesca Lagerberg.

The same report notes that among nearly 5,000 businesses surveyed in the International Business Report (IBR) research, the proportion of women in senior management is the same as the year before. "The lack of movement in the proportion of senior women between 2019 and 2020 does not necessarily reflect a failure of businesses to take positive action in this area. Last year's uplift rode the wave of attention generated by the #MeToo movement and gender pay gap reporting, and numbers have since steadied," the report said. It added: "Another factor in the leveling off could be that the 'easy' promotions

have been made. Research from McKinsey found that the biggest obstacle women face on the path to senior leadership is at the first step up to manager. For every 100 men promoted and hired to manager, only 72 women are promoted and hired. This 'broken rung' results in more women getting stuck at entry level. Unsurprisingly, men end up holding 62% of manager-level positions, while women hold just 38%."

The report also shows that "ensuring equal access to developmental work opportunities and creating an inclusive culture are the most common initiatives aimed at improving gender diversity, both at 34%. Meanwhile, offering unconscious bias training is the least common initiative. All actions have increased in popularity since 2019, with linking senior management reward to progress on gender diversity rising the most in the last year, climbing by five percentage points. Nonetheless, 22% of businesses globally still take no action to ensure gender diversity."

Coming back to our awards gala, this year's event was organized in partnership with CEC Bank, OTP Bank, Garanti BBVA, Idea Bank Romania, Apulum Porcelain Factory, Ecooking, Romaqua Group Borsec, Via Viticola, Chocoland, World Class Romania, Kanal D, Trends by Adina Buzatu, Aida Events, Casa Anke, Ramada Bucharest Parc Hotel.

Winners 2020

Most Admired Business Woman of the Year

MIOARA POPESCU,CEO, IDEA BANK

CSR Professional of the Year

SILVIA BALAN,

PR MANAGER, RAMADA BUCHARESTPARC & RAMADA PLAZABUCHAREST HOTEL

Performing Arts Personality of the Year

LAMIA BELIGAN

Fashion Industry Personality of the Year

ADINA BUZATU,TRENDS BY ADINA BUZATU

Communication Executive of the Year

MIHAELA DRAGHICI,

PR DIRECTOR, ROMAQUA GROUP BORSEC

DORA MORHAN,GENERAL MANAGER, PLEIADABOUTIQUE HOTEL

Sports Personality of the Year

MADALINA BERES

Leading Banking Executive

LUMINITA CIOACA,

DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER,GARANTI BBVA

Most Creative Leadership

ANDREEA LICA,MARKETING MANAGER, VIA VITICOLA

Excellence in Media Sales

STEFANIA MITRACHE,DEPUTY SALES DIRECTOR, KANAL D

Most Admired Woman in Banking

ROXANA MARIA HIDAN,VICE PRESIDENT, DEPUTY CEO, RETAILDIVISION, OTP BANK ROMANIA

Model of Excellence

MIHAELA POPA,FIRST VICE PRESIDENT, CEC BANK