BWAW will have 60 high-level speakers for its fourth edition

• Organised by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona, it will address issues such as the presence of women in industry 4.0 and in the audiovisual environment, mid-life professional retraining, human resources management and gender equality in the legal or health fields

• The event will be attended by important institutions, entities and companies such as Google, Abertis, ICAB, Volkswagen, Mujeres en Farma, Filmax, Fundación Diversidad, EADA, Barcelona Health Hub or Talent Factory, among others.

Barcelona, February 21th, 2024.- The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) will hold the fourth edition of the Barcelona Woman Acceleration Week (BWAW) with a panel of 60 top-level speakers, both national and international, both women and men, to advance towards gender equality and propose solutions that allow progress in terms of parity,  equal opportunities and promotion of women in industry and business.

For the fourth consecutive year, this event will address initiatives that help accelerate the visibility of women in key sectors of the economy. Between 5 and 7 March, coinciding with International Women’s Day (8M), the DFactory Barcelona building will once again become the best loudspeaker for female talent.

This year BWAW will have the participation of distinguished professionals from institutions such as Pilar Paneque, Undersecretary of Finance of the Ministry of Finance; and Marta Serrano, Secretary General for Infrastructure and Land Transport; Susana Ferrer, vice-dean of ICAB; and Eva Rosell, CEO of Barcelona Health Hub.

BWAW will also have the vision of representatives of renowned companies and large corporations such as Anna Sánchez, CIO and member of the executive committee of Volkswagen Group Spain Distribution; Enrique Tomás, founder and director of Enrique Tomás; Tomas Flier, regional manager of diversity and inclusion for EMEA at Google; Georgina Flamme, Director of Institutional Relations, Communication and Sustainability at Abertis and director of the Abertis Foundation; Laura Fernández, partner and producer of Filmax; Joan Roca, CEO of RocaJunyent; Mónica Jiménez, CEO of TM2 and Meritxell Bautista, president of Manix Capital.

The program also includes professionals from associations such as Rosa Cañadas, president of the Fundación Tanja; Amaia Celaya, Humanitarian Practice Advisor at UN Migration and the European Commission; Sara Berbel, director of Empowerment Hub; Elena Álvarez, president and co-founder of Mujeres en Farma.

14 discussion sessions with a B2B focus

The event will be divided into 14 sessions where the different professionals will reflect on the current situation and improvements in gender equality in the business and industrial world. The first day, Tuesday, March 5, will feature the official opening of the 4th edition of BWAW at 10 a.m. The presentations on the first day will focus on the following topics: BLegal, where the presence of women in senior legal positions will be discussed; BPublic will analyse female leadership in the public sector; BIndustry 4.0 will address the challenges faced by women in Industry 4.0; and in the afternoon, at BMultilateral, there will be a reflection on the main priorities in the relationship between multilateralism and gender equality.

During the second day, on Wednesday, March 6, there will be a debate under the umbrella of BAudiovisual on the gender perspective in audiovisual production; BLeadership will talk about female leadership in Human Resources positions in companies; BReskiling will investigate professional retraining as a second chance; and BCorporate will deal with the promotion of parity policies from large corporations.

On the third and final day, Thursday 7 March, under the prism of BEducation, the gender perspective in the creation of young talent will be addressed; in BAction, emphasis will be placed on business actions to advance gender equality; at BInternational, speakers will discuss the internationalization of female talent in Arab countries and this year’s edition will close under the BHealth topic, which will delve into the inverted female pyramid in the health sector.

Blanca Sorigué, general director of the CZFB, underlines the importance of this event in the business agenda, stating that “there are multiple reports that confirm that companies that promote equal opportunities between men and women experience greater growth in their profits compared to those that do not. Women play a critical role in both the economy and the organisational structure of companies, and it is crucial to recognise and value this. That’s why we created BWAW three years ago”.

Pere Navarro, special delegate of the State in the CZFB, stressed that “BWAW is a reminder that gender equality is fundamental for the progress of our companies and society. We want to foster an environment where the talent and potential of every individual, regardless of gender, is valued and made the most of it. In the era of the new economy, parity is imperative because it brings value to organizations, fosters greater diversity, and contributes to global growth”.

The presentations will have a hybrid format and can be followed through the online platform itself, which offers free access to live streams of all sessions. Registrations can be made by accessing the event’s website, where all the information is also available. The meetings will take place in person in the industry 4.0 ecosystem of international reference, at DFactory Barcelona, the technological hub based on talent and technology that brings together large business corporations, startups, innovation centres and laboratories.