International Women’s Day Statement from the IAM

Monday 8 March 2021 marks International Women's Day (IWD), a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Thousands of events and activities are organised across the world, as groups come together to celebrate and recognise women's achievements and rally for women's equality. This is an annual celebration that commemorates the history and achievements of women, and aims to raise awareness about women's equality, and ‘a call to action for accelerating gender parity’.

Raising awareness about women's equality is essential. This year IWD is being celebrated against a backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent Government Select Committee Report found that ‘inequality problems have been made worse for many women during the pandemic’. In view of this, the International Women’s Day theme this year is ‘Choose to Challenge’, highlighting the importance of being ‘alert and questioning discriminative behaviours to strive for change and to achieve equality’.
To further showcase and celebrate women’s efforts and key contributions to our global community, the United Nations women’s theme for IWD this year is ‘Women in Leadership: achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world’. The theme aims to celebrate the critical role of women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future, and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Institute of Asset Management recognises that achieving gender equality requires hard work and commitment, it requires us all to meaningfully engage and connect, and to reach out and listen, to all our staff and members. We are committed to tackling inequality, as well as recognising the outstanding contributions that Women continue to make to global asset management.

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To mark International Women's Day, the IAM's Inclusion Group are hosting a panel discussion event.