Yasser El-Gammal (World Bank): There is still a long way to go on gender rights and equality

 Women are involved in certain sectors, such as entrepreneurship, boards of directors, political representation or in the labor market, but there is still a long way to go in terms of rights, gender equality and empowerment, Yasser El-Gammal, World Bank Country Manager for Romania and Hungary, said on Thursday at a specialized event."I'm relatively new to Romania, so I know very few of you, but I'm rather sure I'm here today surrounded by some of the most successful women in this country and I'm truly honored to have this opportunity. I hope that in the months and years to come I will have the chance to learn and hear about all your stories (...) We talk about rights, gender equality and empowerment. In all these three areas, I believe that, both globally and in Romania, we have come a long way and there is much to celebrate, but we also know that there is still much to do. In all countries, we see that girls perform better in school than boys, and Romania is no exception. I've seen it in Africa, in Asia, and now I'm seeing it in Europe. When you look at the participation in the labor market and when you look at the involvement of women in certain sectors, for example, in entrepreneurship, in boards of directors, as political representation, you realize that there is still a long way to go," El-Gammal mentioned at the conference organized by the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).He added that women should be appreciated for the responsibilities they have in everyday life, including a successful career."I also come from a culture, I think, from what I've seen in the last five months, somewhat similar to Romania. I am Egyptian, I grew up in Egypt, but I am also Canadian, but I feel more Egyptian. Sometimes I feel that even though our cultures have beautiful things, they hinder the progress of women in certain aspects. I came to live in Europe early in my life. I lived in the US for a very long time. And there is a certain "women's time" that exists in my culture. So we have a holiday and we celebrate it. I always see my mom spending two days in the kitchen and that's the fate of women, at least in my culture. We have somebody sick, an old person sick and automatically it's a woman's responsibility to take care of that. These are things that I'm not necessarily saying we should change, but I'm saying we should appreciate them and understand that they are obstacles in a woman's life, especially a woman who decides she would like to have a career and a successful one," the World Bank official said.BVB, together with IFC, organized on Thursday the event "Ring the Bell for ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment", a global initiative organized by stock exchanges and other capital markets stakeholders to promote gender equality and highlight the role of women in the workplace and in the communities where they live.