The President of the Sociedad de Fomento Fabril (Sofofa), Rosario Navarro, and the Chief Economist of Scotiabank Chile, Jorge Selaive, were the main speakers at the event with which Scotiabank Chile celebrated the first anniversary of Iniciativa Mujeres , the bank program. Canadian-based organization that seeks to promote the leadership and overall development of women in business.

Iniciativa Mujeres was born in 2018 in Canada and has been implemented in four of the countries in which the bank operates, with Chile being the first in the Pacific Alliance to launch it. “As a Bank, we are very proud to contribute concretely to the development of women in business. Since its inception, the program has supported more than 15,000 women entrepreneurs around the world and, in just 12 months in Chile, it has already reached more than 1,700 women through financing, economic discussions, training, mentoring and networking events. Likewise, to date, we have provided more than $140 million in resources to women-led businesses,” explained Susan Salas, vice president of Risk Wholesale and program sponsor in Chile.

In this context, and in front of nearly a hundred businesswomen, executives and entrepreneurs, the first female president of Sofofa in the union’s 140 years of existence, Rosario Navarro, shared the details of her story and the path that she has traveled in the public world. private and union. She also gave recommendations for women thriving in the world of entrepreneurship and business, including: having a purpose; a short presentation highlighting the skills; search for references; build a network of contacts; and take advantage of the mentorship, because “you never stop learning”.

For his part, Scotiabank’s Chief Economist, Jorge Selaive, analyzed the country’s economic outlook, reviewed the main global challenges and their impact on the local economy, in addition to reviewing the macroeconomic projections for 2023. and 2024.

In addition to program clients, union leaders participated in the event, such as the General Manager of the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (ABIF), Luis Opazo; Karen Thal, President of ICARE; and the vice-president of the Association of Entrepreneurs of Chile (Asech), Constanza Vásquez; in addition to opinion leaders and leaders in the field of women’s leadership, such as the co-founder of Mujeres Empresarias, Francisca Valdés; among other actors.

Long-term commitment to gender equality

Since its birth in Canada more than 190 years ago and for almost 33 years that it has existed in Chile, the bank of Canadian origin is committed to promoting the role of women in all areas of society.

To this end, it has developed a series of activities, practices and programs aimed at guaranteeing respect for diversity both in the workplace and with its clients and the community in general. Today at Scotiabank, women make up 54% of the workforce, 27% of leadership positions and 34% of managers. Similarly, a year ago it became the first private bank to have an equal board of directors, made up of four women and four men.

Externally, for customers and the community, for more than 10 years it has been awarding the Entrepreneur Award and participating in the Executive of the Year Award, in addition to carrying out support actions in the areas of education, employability and inclusion through its social action and community program ScotiaINSPIRA.