The Ring the Bell for Gender Equality initiative Under the theme Ringing for Rights, Justice and Action
The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), in collaboration with UN Women, UN Global Compact Jordan (UNGCJ), and the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSE), proudly announces the 12th annual Ring the Bell (RTB) for Gender Equality event. This global initiative, taking place in more than 110 exchanges and CCPs worldwide, highlights the critical role of the private sector in advancing gender equality, empowering women in the workforce, and promoting inclusive and sustainable business practices.
The Ring the Bell for Gender Equality initiative, led by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), has been raising awareness for gender equality across global stock exchanges for over a decade. The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) has actively participated in this global campaign for the past eleven years, demonstrating Jordan’s commitment to promoting gender equality within its financial markets. Since first joining the initiative, ASE has consistently observed this annual event.
In 2022, ASE further strengthened its commitment by officially signing the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). Continuing its dedication to gender equality, ASE hosted the 11th Annual Ring the Bell for Gender Equality. Held in celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026, this global initiative highlighted the private sector’s critical role in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.
In alignment with International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026, The Ring the Bell (RTB) theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026 is “Ring the Bell for ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Justice. Action.” This year, IWD 2026 calls for accelerated action to remove structural barriers to gender equality: discriminatory laws, weak legal protections and harmful practices and social norms that limit women’s economic participation in the market. The theme highlights the urgent need for transformative commitments from the private sector to safeguard rights, champion justice, and accelerate meaningful, measurable action toward gender equality. Today, women globally hold only 64 per cent of the legal rights afforded to men. At current rates of reform, full legal equality could take centuries. Laws matter. Institutions matter. And implementation also happens in markets — in boardrooms, workplaces and supply chains.
The 2026 RTB theme calls on the private sector to take decisive action in three interconnected pillars — Rights, Justice, and Action — and calls on the private sector to take decisive and measurable steps to advance gender equality. It emphasizes safeguarding women’s and girls’ rights across workplaces and supply chains, ensuring protection from violence, discrimination, and exploitation through strong policies and accountability mechanisms. It also calls for embedding justice within corporate systems by addressing structural inequalities and integrating fair, transparent practices into organizational governance and operations. Finally, the theme underscores the importance of implementing concrete, measurable actions aligned with gender equality goals, moving beyond commitments to tangible impact that drives inclusive, sustainable growth.
In his opening remarks, H.E. Mr. Mazen Wathaifi, CEO of ASE, emphasized:
“Ring the Bell for Gender Equality is a global moment for companies and investors to turn ambition into measurable progress. Advancing gender equality is not only the right thing to do—it strengthens governance, resilience, and long-term value creation. Through policies, reporting standards, and initiatives such as the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), companies can embed gender equality into governance, supply chains, and investment decisions, and drive measurable impact.”
The ASE, in collaboration with the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSE) and UN Women, is participating in a new round of the online Gender Equality in Capital Markets training, which enhances understanding of gender equality, sustainable finance, and corporate reporting, guiding companies to integrate gender considerations into investment strategies.
H.E. Mr. Emad Abu Haltam, Chairperson of the Jordan Securities Commission (JSC), said:
Greater participation of women in capital markets, whether as professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, or leaders, contributes to stronger institutions and supports sustainable economic growth. In this context, the Jordan Securities Commission is working toward launching ESG related guidelines in the near future. The social pillar of these guidelines will include considerations related to diversity, including diversity in board membership, as part of broader efforts to promote inclusive, transparent, and well governed institutions.
Mr. Nicolas Burniat, UN Women Representative to Jordan, highlighted:
“Investing in systems that enable women to fully participate in the economy, addressing workplace violence and harassment, and expanding opportunities for women-led businesses are critical to advancing not only gender equality but also economic growth. Evidence also shows that companies implementing the Women’s Empowerment Principles strengthen their reputation and brand value, with 62 per cent of participating companies in 2025 reporting improvements in this area.
One of the goals of the WEPs program ran by UN Women here in Jordan is to work with companies to surge women’s employment by 5% by 2030 in support of the Economic Modernization Vision and its target of doubling women’s labor force participation by 2033. For this we need as many companies as possible, small medium, large and anchor to sign on to the WEPs and even more importantly, to implement them, measure change and report transparently on it.”
In 2025, the UN Women Jordan Country Office administered the WEPs Regional Monitoring Tool, recording a 66% response rate from 256 signatory companies. Results show gradual but clear progress: women among signatory companies now hold 42% of jobs (up from 41% in 2024), with 56% of all new recruits being women, reflecting stronger gender-responsive recruitment and retention practices. Over 263 companies in Jordan, representing well over 100,000 employees, have joined the WEPs network, aligning with national priorities such as the Economic Modernization Vision.
H.E. Mr. Jamal Fariz, Chairperson of UN Global Compact Network Jordan, added:
“The Ring the Bell for Gender Equality initiative reflects the strong and valuable partnership between the Amman Stock Exchange, UN Women, and the UN Global Compact Network Jordan in advancing gender equality in the private sector. Through this collaboration, we aim to raise awareness and encourage companies to take meaningful steps toward empowering women and promoting inclusive workplaces. This year’s theme reminds us that achieving gender equality requires collective action, sustained commitment, and partnerships that translate global principles into tangible impact.”
The event brought together Ring the Bell partners at ASE for a high-level meeting and featured the opening bell for trading, symbolizing the Exchange’s ongoing commitment to creating inclusive workplaces and equitable opportunities for women and girls in Jordan.
