“Investments in diversity, equity and inclusion continue and are strongly supported by our leadership. To date, we have made significant progress […]but we are not satisfied. A quote from the equality policy adopted by the makers of ChatGPT artificial intelligence software summarizes the logic that should govern every business and every workplace. The pursuit of equality at work must be constant.

For BSE, equality includes much more than equal opportunities for women at work. It is a culture and behavior that highlights ability, creates talent pools of men and women equally, respects individuality, refrains from derogatory labels, fully recognizes ability, and does not create barriers to professional development. It is a mindset that takes for granted that working women receive equal pay for equal work, have equal participation in positions of responsibility based purely on performance, and of course new mothers are supported in practice.

Adopting this mindset takes more effort than ever before. Globally, according to the UN, women make up less than 33% of the workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Greece has made great progress over the past decade, but there is room for improvement compared to the rest of the EU. According to the latest data from the European Observatory for Gender Equality, the overall equality index for our country is 53%, while the EU average is 68%. It is significant that the individual labor participation index is 72%, while the one-sidedness and quality of work for women is estimated at 59%. In the political, economic and social power sub-index, the gap is even wider, at 28%, half the EU average.

For BSE, the path to equality should not be limited to the institutional obligations of each business. On the contrary, for us it is a matter of continuous progress and efforts to activate valuable human capital, regardless of gender. In our internal organization, we are trying to put this mentality into practice, with 55% of our managers being women.

We have also created a Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Working Group chaired by Yulia Tseti, CEO of the Tseti Pharmaceutical Group and General Secretary of the Board of Directors. BSE. The Working Group actively promotes equality policies and best practices to ensure that all employees enjoy equal opportunities based on their abilities.

The benefits of women’s equal participation in the labor force are significant and in many ways obvious. Diversity-based businesses use the most productive human capital and become more competitive, more creative, and more profitable. It gets better for his employees.

* Dr. Giorgos Hirogiannis is the CEO of SEV.