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EBANX pushes for gender parity, inclusivity at G20 forum

A firm that provides access to people to buy in international digital commerce, EBANX, has pushed the frontiers for diversity and gender inclusivity at the G20 summit in Brazil. It said it sees this issue not only as a matter of social impact but as a key success factor for businesses: "There is no innovation without diversity"

EBANX President of Global Payments, Paula Bellizia, is leading a diversity action council at the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community (B20): "The private sector needs to take responsibility".

Gender equality has never been as important in G20 discussions as it has been this year, under the presidency of Brazil. This is the first time women have a Working Group focused on promoting their empowerment and a dedicated Action Council at one of the most prominent Engagement Groups of the G20, the Business 20 (B20), composed of around 1,000 businesses representatives. This issue is also central in other Engagement Groups such as the Women 20 (W20). EBANX, a global technology company specializing in payment services for rising markets, is proud to have Paula Bellizia, President of Global Payments, as one of the leaders in these discussions.

Bellizia is the Chair of the B20 Women, Diversity, and Inclusion in Business Action Council, a group dedicated to fostering greater gender and diversity representation in the corporate world, with a special focus on women. Its primary goals include proposing policies that create inclusive workplaces where all individuals can thrive, promote equity and diversity in leadership positions, and ensure that businesses actively advance diversity and inclusion initiatives.

"The responsibility is immense because we will be proposing policies to the G20 countries, which have a significant representation in the global GDP. If we succeed in getting these recommendations adopted by these countries, we will indeed be shifting the needle on gender equality worldwide," Paula stated in an online debate hosted by Grupo Globo, the largest media conglomerate in Brazil.

Gender equality in the labor market is among the most discussed topics in the B20 Action Council. "Diversity is a key success factor for businesses" emphasized Paula during the debate – the fourth McKinsey Diversity Matters report (2023) found that companies with diverse leadership teams continue to be associated with higher financial returns. "Diversity also has a direct impact on GDP," she added, mentioning a World Bank study released in March, which showed that global GDP could be raised by 20per cent if the gender gap were closed. During B20 meetings, Paula has gone even further by emphasizing in all discussions the role that equality plays in technological development. In an interview with CBN radio, the primary news radio network in Brazil, she cited the example of EBANX, a Brazilian company that became a global leader in digital payment by investing in inclusion, equality and diversity. "There is no innovation without diversity. Innovation comes from differences. How can you create innovative solutions without diverse inputs? It's impossible. EBANX's innovation and the development of its technology were only possible because we have people from different backgrounds and experiences bringing their perspectives to the table of discussion".

Although EBANX is not a publicly traded company, the company has been publishing an annual Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report since 2022. At EBANX, 40per cent of the leaders are women, which is ten percentage points above the global average.

"In my team, the ratio is even higher: half of the directors are women. We are proud of our work, but not satisfied. There is still much to be done. We want to achieve representativeness of society within our company", Paula said on CBN radio. To become an even more diverse company, EBANX has initiatives such as a mentoring program for women leaders, empowerment conversation circles, educational platform to develop allies, exclusive internship processes for women, Black people, and other minorities, and programs that offer free technology education for women and people in socially vulnerable situations. "I wish more companies would take on their responsibilities in making society fairer".

The Action Council led by Paula meets monthly to discuss proposals for gender equality policies that will be presented to the G20 leadership at the Summit in November. "Our goal is to deliver recommendations that are actionable, concrete, proposals that we can definitely implement and measure so that we can achieve the development of economic and social inclusion of women as we hope. It's not a short-term task; it's challenging, but achievable".