Gender equality shouldn’t only be an aspiration. It should be part and parcel of core business values, measures and operations to secure the foundation of progress. - Olga Jordão, CEO Porto and Head of Business Operations at Euronext Securities
In March 2025, the WEPs Secretariat hosted the 12th session of its Deep-Dive series: "Governance for Gender Equality." This session featured a fireside chat between Anna Falth, Global Head of the WEPs Secretariat at UN Women, and distinguished business leaders: Olga Jordão, CEO Porto and Head of Business Operations at Euronext Securities; and Irina Chaltikyan, Deputy CEO of McCann Yerevan network advertising agency.
In her opening remarks, Anna underscored that their conversation was set against the backdrop of a special milestone, 30 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a global blueprint for gender equality and women’s empowerment. In honor of this anniversary, the WEPs Secretariat is exploring each of the Declaration’s twelve strategic themes over the course of a year. March’s theme, institutional mechanisms for gender equality, related directly to the topic of this session: advancing gender equality through corporate governance.
What is Corporate Governance?
From a gender equality perspective, corporate governance includes implementing inclusive and equitable practices across all levels of an organization. It means embedding gender equality as a core organizational value and making it a strategic priority across all business functions and objectives. This involves eliminating discriminatory practices and unconscious bias, fostering a workplace culture free from gender-based discrimination, and developing policies that address the specific needs and interests of all genders—ensuring equal access to opportunities and resources. It also means cultivating a work environment where everyone feels respected, valued, and empowered to contribute. Such an approach is essential for building a positive, inclusive, and high-performing organizational culture. In simple terms, gender equality is good for business.
More broadly, corporate governance refers to the system of rules, laws, and practices that determine how a company is directed and controlled. Effective corporate governance is built on several key principles:
- Accountability, to ensure management and the board are answerable for their actions.
- Transparency, so that accurate and timely information is accessible to stakeholders.
- Fairness, to guarantee that all stakeholders are treated equitably and decisions are made justly.
- Participation, to involve relevant stakeholders in key decision-making processes.
The goal of strong corporate governance is to ensure that a company is managed efficiently and ethically. This includes protecting stakeholder interests, complying with laws and regulations, managing risks, contributing to social good, and prioritizing long-term sustainability over short-term profits.
Beyond Box-Ticking
Following her opening remarks, Anna asked the panelists how and why corporate governance is crucial to addressing gender equality. She also asked how we can prevent gender equality initiatives from becoming “box-ticking exercises”, in other words, efforts that signal compliance without driving real and lasting change.
Irina emphasized that incorporating gender equality into corporate governance structures creates both business and social value. She stressed that companies must move beyond treating gender equality solely as an issue for the human resources department, and instead embed it in overall corporate strategies and operations to enable meaningful and sustainable progress.
She also highlighted the importance of tailoring gender equality approaches to local contexts. Drawing from her experience in Armenia, she shared that in 2009, her company’s research showed that 90% of surveyed consumers found a commercial featuring a father changing a diaper socially unacceptable. As a result, the ad was not aired in that market. However, when the same commercial was revisited years later, public attitudes had shifted significantly, and the content was now widely accepted. This demonstrated how consistent, context-sensitive efforts gradually shape perceptions and drive meaningful, long-term change.
Olga added that corporate governance plays a fundamental role in advancing gender equality because it embeds diversity and inclusion into the organization’s decision-making and leadership structures, ensuring that companies can set measurable targets and making it sustainable across leadership transitions. She recalled that when she started in the financial services industry over thirty years ago, she was often the only woman in the room and gender equality was not even a topic of discussion. While these issues are now more visible, she stressed that to move beyond box-ticking, inclusion must be deeply integrated into all areas of the organization.
Putting Principles into Practice
Building upon the topic of box-ticking, the speakers then discussed the specific policies their companies had taken to further gender equality since becoming signatories to the WEPs.
At McCann Yerevan, they had reviewed hiring practices, revised the employee code of ethics, and conducted training sessions to break down gender stereotypes in job roles. One notable programme allowed women to take on roles traditionally perceived as ‘male-only’ positions. The company also partnered with local schools to encourage and train women to pursue careers in male-dominated fields.
At Euronext Securities Porto, they had set diversity targets to achieve 30% gender representation at both leadership and operational levels, as well as implemented regular tracking and reporting on progress. Olga noted that “what doesn’t get measured doesn’t exist”. From a hiring perspective, they monitor women and men’s salary allocation from the outset and have established an early career programme to support female students and interns. A key initiative is their Gender Pay Equity Action Plan, which is a dedicated budget designed to close gender pay gaps. Lastly, they have introduced parental leave protections to ensure that employees returning from leave receive bonuses equal to their peers.
Overcoming Challenges
The speakers highlighted a key obstacle to workplace gender equality: the widespread assumption that progress will naturally occur over time. Olga challenged this passive mindset, emphasizing that meaningful change requires intention actions such as implementing inclusive policies, setting targets, and adopting deliberate strategies.
Another persistent challenge is general resistance to gender equality initiatives. As Irina noted, such efforts are often misunderstood, viewed as either disadvantaging men or relegated to human resources, rather than being recognized as central to business success, resilience and sustainability.
Reflecting on these challenges, a central takeaway from the discussion was the importance of building a strong business case for gender equality. Research consistently shows that diverse leadership teams drive stronger performance, enhance innovation, and yield better financial outcomes. Resources like Why Women Mean Business offer compelling evidence to support this.
Storytelling can be a powerful tool to address skepticism. Sharing concrete examples of how inclusive practices improve retention helps decision-makers see their practical value. For instance, Irina shared how flexible remote work policies enabled her to manage parenting responsibilities—an experience that shifted her CEO’s perspective.
Final Reflections
To conclude the webinar, Anna invited final thoughts from the panel. Irina emphasized that gender equality extends beyond corporate policy, it is reflected in everyday actions: how we support colleagues, raise our children, and treat our partners. Olga concluded by reminding the audience that gender equality is not a one-time initiative, but a long-term commitment that must be embedded into business strategy, governance, and culture.
You can watch the recording here.