Women in ETFs (WE) rang in International Women's Day with a bang, hosting bell-ringing events at 43 stock exchanges around the world.

This isn't the first global bell-ringing event that WE has coordinated, but it is the biggest. In 2014, they rang 9 bells, and in 2016 it jumped to more than 30. This year, they worked in partnership with the UN Global Compact, UN Women, the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, IFC, and the World Federation of Stock Exchanges.

One of the events yesterday was held in downtown New York at the Bats exchange, and brought together around 50 people to ring the exchange's opening bell.

The event kicked off with opening remarks from Laura Morrison, SVP and global head of exchange traded products at Bats, and Debbie Fuhr, WE co-founder and managing partner at ETFGI. Then, Liza Donnelly, cartoonist for The New Yorker, talked about her career and shared samples of her work highlighting female empowerment, which delighted the crowd and stayed true to the spirit of the day.

At 9:30, the group gathered around the opening bell to ring in market open.

The group was a testament to the diversity of the WE's membership — the crowd included women, men, seasoned industry vets, and folks who are just getting started in the ETF biz.

Attendees enjoyed sweeping views of the New York Harbor and a breakfast spread that included miniature bagel and smoked salmon sandwiches, quiche, and a fruit spread.

WE was founded in 2014 as a group for women in the ETF industry. In January, they celebrated three years and 2,500 members, including both women and men. As of March 8, they're up to 2,700 members worldwide. 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE