BWAW advocates for digital transformation in Spain with a focus on women

• DFactory Barcelona hosted the second day of BWAW, where top-level speakers shared their experiences on gender equality in the field of entrepreneurship and young talent, culture, technology and international leadership.

• The conference began with the intervention of the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence of the Government of Spain, María González Veracruz: “It is urgent to accelerate public policies, break glass ceilings and build a culture of entrepreneurship based on equity, sustainability and diversity”

Barcelona, 5 March 2024.- The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) has once again opened the doors of DFactory Barcelona on the second day of Barcelona Woman Acceleration Week (BWAW), the benchmark event for advancing gender equality in the industrial and business spheres. Today’s conference addressed key issues such as female leadership in entrepreneurship, culture, technology and the impact of female talent at an international level.

The conference began with the intervention of the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence of the Government of Spain, María González Veracruz, who stated that: “In Spain, only 33% of management positions are held by women, and startups created by them receive 23% less funding than those of men. Therefore, it is urgent to accelerate public policies, break glass ceilings and build a culture of entrepreneurship based on equity, sustainability and diversity.”

Fostering female leadership in entrepreneurship

 The day started with the BEntrepreneurship session  and the round table “Equal Entrepreneurship: promoting female leadership”, moderated by María Navarro, director of communication and marketing of the Incyde Foundation and the participation of: Olga Carbonell, CEO and founder of Biotasmart, Elisabet del Valle, CEO and co-founder of Onalabs Inno-Hub, Cristina Pacheco, head of the LIDERA initiative of Barcelona Activa – Barcelona City Council, Iria Varela, CEO of ODS Proteins and Eva Vila-Massanas, co-founder of Juno House.

The challenges of female leadership, the funding gap and the lack of diversity in entrepreneurship have been addressed. It has been pointed out that, in Catalonia, only 35% of the 2,200 startups have at least one woman in their founding team, and barely 3% of investment funds are allocated to projects led by women.

 Culture as a driver for equality

 The second panel of the day, BCulture, with the session “Culture as a great stage to promote equality”, focused on culture as a tool to make female talent visible and promote equality. Moderated by Anna Cler, deputy director of RTVE Catalonia, it was attended by Sergi Casamitjana, director of the ESCAC Foundation, Judith Colell, president of the Catalan Film Academy, Xavier Marcé, Councillor for Culture and Creative Industries of the Barcelona City Council, and Carmen Zapata, commissioner of the Barcelona Night.

During the session, the lack of equality in the cultural and cinematographic world was discussed, where women still do not reach 30% representation. The need for progress in the private sector, especially in large multinationals, has also been pointed out, although change will be slow. There has been reflection on the absence of a true meritocracy and the importance of building change together.

 The relevance of emerging talent

 At noon, BTalent with the panel “Emerging Talent Awards: a step towards equality” was organised together with the Princess of Girona Foundation with the aim of recognising the work of young professionals who are already driving a change towards equality in different sectors. The session was moderated by Ingrid Aznar, from the Princess of Girona Foundation, and was attended by leaders such as Silvia Fernández, president and founder of the Palliative Art Foundation; Lucía Goy, founding partner of Gentile Law; Gloria Lomana, executive president of 50&50 Gender Leadership; Samuel Sánchez, ICREA professor and Group Leader (IBEC) at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia; and Ousman Umar, founder and president of Nasco Feeding Minds.

 The session highlighted the barriers that women still face in accessing leadership positions, despite their high academic performance and presence in sectors such as law and science. The glass ceiling has become evident in the field of research and law firms, where conciliation continues to be an obstacle. In addition, education and digitalisation have been highlighted as key tools to advance equality, as well as the need to reformulate labour models to achieve true parity.

 Innovation with a gender perspective

Later, the BTechnology vertical took place  with the session “Innovation with a gender perspective: Leading Change”, moderated by Paloma Leyra, journalist specialising in women and talent at ELLE Hearst Spain. The table was attended by Luisa Alli, secretary general of the Hermes Foundation; Misericordia Ávila, software developer in the Digital Business Unit of KION Group; Joan L. Mas, scientific director, digital area and director of CIDAI at Eurecat and Maria Rivas, Chief Operating Officer at Zentinel MDS.

The last table of the morning highlighted the urgency of reducing the gap in the technology sector and the lack of female role models as a key obstacle. Despite the challenges, the potential of technology as a driver of change has been underlined. Innovation cannot move forward without diversity, and female leadership is key to driving change and building a more equitable future in the sector.

Women Who Lead Across Borders

This afternoon the session of the BInternational vertical will be held, entitled “Leadership beyond borders: examples that transform”. A session that will be moderated by Pere Navarro, special delegate of the State at the CZFB, and will feature the participation of: Lidan Qi, CEO of Puente China Holding, Rosa Cañadas, president of the Tanja Foundation and Talea Capital and Patricia Santoni, Minister of Foreign Trade of France at La French Tech Miami.

 Tomorrow, Thursday, March 6, the last day of the 5th edition of the BWAW will be held, which will address crucial issues such as the role of the third sector in equality, female empowerment in large corporations, the representation of women in science and the fight for labor rights.