The Future of Purpose: Shaping a more sustainable, inclusive world

Last week in Venice, we had the chance to discuss how to shape a more inclusive and sustainable world with a group of strong, accomplished, and committed women from different backgrounds, who all share the same vision for a better world.

Together with these incredibly passionate and digitally conversant women, we discussed the future of purpose and inclusion in our companies and industries. Among the key issues we covered were the barriers women face today in terms of access to financial resources, education, and overall inclusion within the framework of our annual Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE).

Although women are 50% of the world’s population, they own only 20% of exporting companies. Beyond this, the latest Global Gender Gap Report estimates that Covid 19 has added an additional 36 years for us to be able to close the global gender gap in the workplace. The pandemic, in fact, has had a disproportionate impact on women, due to their over indexing in part time jobs, sector vulnerability, caregiving responsibilities and not being able to access the financial resources and digital skills required to shift to new marketplaces.

We shared opinions on driving key enablers, such as a brand's role when addressing the power of purpose and how our combined financial and technological ecosystem can support women entrepreneurship and their subsequent empowerment.?By discussing and learning from each other through these opportunities, we can understand how?to address inclusion, promoting a diverse and equal society while fueling considered and sustainable spending.

Also of note, 80% of European consumers believe brands have the power to affect significant positive social change and 58% of young consumers are increasingly aware of the importance of spending sustainably and the individual role they themselves play.

Mastercard has committed to include1 billion people in the economy by 2025, and since 2015 we have brought 675 million people into the financial ecosystem. ?As part of this commitment, Mastercard has also pledged to include 25 million women entrepreneurs into the economy by 2025 and we have currently helped 18 million woman-owned or -led small businesses digitalize their operations.

But we know that it takes a village and we need everyone's help in closing the inclusion gap sustainably.

During this event, I was joined by incredible inspiring panelists: Robin Wright and Karen Fowler founders of Pour Les Femmes, a female-founded social enterprise committed to improving the lives of women across the world and to advocating for a better future for the planet; Renata Codello, General General Secretary of the Giorgio Cini Foundation, one of the most important cultural hubs in Europe, who shared learnings from the cultural sector for inclusion; and Inès Leonarduzzi , founder of Digital for the Planet, the inventor of digital ecology, and highlighted the importance of digital transformation in favoring sustainability.

We were joined by a group of talented women leaders from the US, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Spain, who enriched the conversation by sharing best practices across multiple disciplines to drive collective action to shape a better future.

I sincerely want to thank all the leaders and colleagues at Mastercard Giuliana Abbate , Barbara Sessa , Vincenza Cristina Saccà , Paloma Real , Marene Arnold and Marzia Pecce for being so active in such a vital cause which is not only a key objective for Mastercard but for all women.?

All for One and One for All, Jeannette

#womenleadership #sustainability #financialinclusion #priceless #mastercard