April 21, 2026 was a memorable day when the first “International Day of Women in Industry” #IDWI by UNIDO was celebrated at the VIC with the online participation of numerous representatives and partners of this UN organization.
The morning session brought together a diverse panel of speakers who reflected the many areas in which women are influencing industrial development today. In her keynote speech, Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland, linked women’s leadership to sustainable economic governance and global resilience: “When women are paid equally, industries benefit from diverse talent, higher productivity and more sustainable results”. The subsequent panel discussion underlined the valuable contribution of women in the fields of maritime technology and water infrastructure as well as competitiveness, innovation and sustainability in industrial value chains.
The afternoon session focused on “metrics for measuring and managing industrial transformation through a gender perspective” and the importance of gender-disaggregated data for effective industrial policymaking. Participants highlighted persistent gaps in measuring women’s advancement, well-being, and leadership, as well as the need to ensure that digital and AI-driven industrial transformation does not reproduce existing gender biases. “We don’t lack gender-sensitive data. We lack the right gender-sensitive data. We need a paradigm shift towards a global harmonized data system that is directly linked to policy and investment decisions.” contributed Laura Linda Sabbadini, social statistician and former Director of the Department of Social and Environmental Statistics at the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT).
Indepth information can be found on the UNIDO webpage .
In addition to the conference program, UNIDO hosted the exhibition “ELLEvate – Women Shaping Industry”, which presented inspiring stories of women in industry at the Rotunda of the VIC.
