Elisa Aichinger

Director Deloitte Consulting

"The benefits of gender equality are plentiful: for individuals, businesses and society – still, they remain largely unused. It requires equal opportunities regarding educational attainment, economic participation and political empowerment to achieve shared prosperity."

Renate Altenhofer

Initiator Women Leadership Forum

“Women represent a powerful source of economic growth and opportunity. The female economy is the world’s largest emerging market, representing an opportunity bigger than China and India combined. They control USD 20 trillion in consumer spending, and that figure could reach USD 28 trillion in the next five years. Investing in women can unlock infinite potential around the globe! When women are economically empowered, they re-invest in their families and communities, producing a multiplier effect that spurs economic growth and contributes to peace, stability and prosperity. However the current COVID-19 crisis shows a clear step backwards. We must not and cannot allow ourselves a "backslash" - neither economically nor socio-politically!“

Silvia Angelo

Member of the Board ÖBB Infrastruktur AG

"Until now building and operating Infrastructure is linked with pictures of oil-smeared men, and jobs that require physical strength. Digitization changes that and makes it easier for women to access a technology-heavy environment. That is a great opportunity for ÖBB-Infrastruktur."

Aysegül Baykal

Deputy Director Private and Institutional Investors-CEE, Schoellerbank

Francine Beleyi

Founder & Digital Strategist, nucleus of change

 "Countless external and internal factors have prevented women from rising to their full potential. But in the digital age, we no longer have to wait. We can create our own platform and connect with like-minded people who will help us carry our vision and make an impact. And for that, we got to start dreaming again."

Divine Ndhlukula

Founder of Securico and chairperson of Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) 

“It is taking so long as women have to start believing in themselves and their capability to drive economies to greater heights.  What is needed is a total mindset shift for women to make this happen.”

Andrea Gritsch

Managing Partner Wolf Theiss Rechtsanwälte

"Integral to creating economic opportunities for women is a business (and employment) culture that responds to the professional and private challenges of female talent. Corporations must recognize the need to promote practices which advance women in their career and elevate them to the executive level. Fostering sustainable success over the course of a woman's career is key, because success in the workplace is a fundamental component of long-term economic equality."

Sophie Karmasin

Founder Karmasin Research & Identity

Anna Masłoń-Oracz

Lecturer at Warsaw University and Warsaw School of Economics 

"The voice of successful business women and their support to younger counterparts, along with strengthening local institutions in terms of gender and equality-focused practice, it's the way to facilitate development and fostering opportunities for women entrepreneurs. The equal society  is encompassed with non-discrimination, equal treatment and equal opportunities."

H.E. Justina Mutale

Founder & CEO, Justina Mutale Leadership Foundation, Africa Goodwill Ambassador 

"As women, we need to unlearn the social, cultural and institutional conditioning that has placed limits on our potentials. We need to learn to lead without seeking permission by mustering unshakeable self-belief and breaking down the barriers that have held us back for centuries."

Ranya Nehmeh

Author “The Chameleon Leader” 

"There are nine traits that will revamp the way we think about leadership. The CHAMELEON Leader walks us through these traits, which were identified by millennials worldwide as being their “wish list” qualities in a leader. The result is a shift in mind-set and a more visionary approach based on the notion of empowering and developing people, collaborating in an authentic way and inspiring others through action. "

Christiane Noll

Country Manager Avanade DACH

“Living true diversity and inclusion are not only success factors for companies, but also the order of the day. Diverse teams perform better. Digitalization enables flexible forms of work. This benefits people in different scenarios of life because rigid structures are broken down as well as trust and responsibility take on a new dimension.”

Wiebke Schloemer

Director for Europe and Central Asia at International Finance Corporation

Martha Schultz

Managing Director of Schultz Company Group and Vice President of Austrian Federal Economic Chamber

"Though women have long been underrepresented in entrepreneurship, yet the number of entreprises founded by women has increased over 45 percent in 2019 and Austria's economy is becoming more and more female. Over a third of Austria’s companies are managed by a woman, thus there is a lot of potential.  Women are an essential part and a driving force of the economy. Therefore it is crucial to increase the importance of women entrepreneurs in public throughout the world.  Networks will help to open up new opportunities, to deepen the knowledge and to boost the self-esteem of women."

Nicole Smith

Director of Budget Execution in the Directorate General for the Budget of the European Commission

“World Bank data shows that the world would be $172 trillion richer if women and men were 100% equal, which would triple the world’s economy. As a female manager in the European Commission, I am proud that we are committed as an organisation to valuing each other equally. This year we adopted the Gender Equality Strategy, where - among other measures - we strive to have 50% of female senior managers and 50% of female middle managers by the end of 2024. This is only the beginning. Using only half of the people, half of the ideas or half of the energy is not good enough.”

Monika Racek

CEO ADMIRAL Casinos & Entertainment AG

Silvia Rathgeb

Director University Alliances SAP 

"The power and potential of technology is immense. Living in a digitized world has helped us to ease the current pandemic, but digital literacy among many women is still low.

We need to ensure inclusion in education and educate men and women equally.

Advancing opportunities for STEAM education,  can inspire women and girls to design, shape and benefit from technological transformations and innovations changing our world."

Hjörtur Smarason

Founder and Principal of School of Astronaut Leadership Training S.A.L.T. 

"We need to identify the cultural and systematic gender walls in our society, break them down and build equality into our system. Role models are instrumental in creating a culture shift and we have a fantastic opportunity coming up: The first woman on the Moon in 2024!"

H. E. Trevor D. Traina

Ambassador of the United States of America to Austria

“As a former tech entrepreneur and now as the U.S. Ambassador to Austria I know that the “female economy” is the largest emerging market. I fully support the U.S. State Department’s initiative called “POWER,” which advances and strengthens women’s economic empowerment.  Department of State resources will be leveraged to promote women in business and, in cooperation with the private sector, new professional networks will be established to focus on promoting women’s economic empowerment in a global context.”

Bibusa Wißemann

CEO and Founder SensXafrica Limited

"Due to "The great Reset" caused by Covid19, a full global women's impact solution can only be achieved by aggressively building a strong and sustainable ecosystem ensuring  women’s full, effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making."