Gender Diversity as a Lever for Economic Development, France
It's time to reflect on Bizz&Buzz, an event held in October 2024 at in Alsace, France, that brought together experts, professionals and committed players to discuss a key issue : gender diversity in industry and digital businesses as a lever for growth. The event, organised as part of the European DEBUTING programme, provided an opportunity to discuss current challenges and identify concrete courses of action.
The programme was rich in discussion and reflection on the important topic. The first theme of discussion was gender diversity as a lever for economic development, with a focus on industry and digital technology. This part of the programme was moderated by Catherine Mosser from Alsace Digital and Anne Coreau from Orange. DEBUTING project was also presented by Cindy Accolas, highlighting the programme's objectives and actions.
These were followed by inspiring testimonials. First of which was by Natasza Kosakowska-Berezecka from Division of Cross-Cultural and Gender Psychology at the University of Gdansk, who is also a stakeholder in DEBUTING project. Kosakowska-Berezecka gave a detailed report on the gender mix in Poland and explained the structural and cultural reasons influencing these dynamics.The second testimonial was by Trycia VDB from 3MBIS where she shared her experience in different professional environments and talked about how gender equality is taken into account in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The following discussions with the participants helped to identify the obstacles and levers to the development of gender diversity in the sectors concerned. Also, several proposals emerged, ranging from raising awareness in companies to mentoring schemes for young girls. In addition, each participant was invited to commit to a concrete action to promote gender diversity in their professional environment.
As the final point of the agenda, DEBUTING companies questionnaire was launched.
An event with commitments
This event provided a valuable opportunity to discuss the importance of gender diversity and to reflect collectively on practical solutions. The first-hand accounts and workshops provided food for thought, encouraging everyone to take action to change attitudes and practices in industry and the digital sector.
Participants came away with a better understanding of the issues, and were invited to give us a fuller feedback via the company questionnaire set up as part of the European DEBUTING project.