We are excited to announce our upcoming event, "Redefining Workplace Equity: Let's Stop Fixing Women and Embrace Systemic Solutions" scheduled for December 4, 2024, in Brussels, in the frame of the Brussels Declaration. This event will challenge traditional narratives surrounding gender equality in the workplace and advocate for systemic solutions.

We will delve into the intersection of gender and entrepreneurship policies, focusing on the gender care gap and the pivotal role of male allies in advancing workplace equity.

The evening will feature inspiring keynote addresses and an engaging panel discussion with esteemed speakers, including:

Lee Chambers 
 

Lee Chambers is the Founder and CEO of Male Allies UK. After a diverse career, from corporate finance to building and exiting tech company, he is now focused on supporting organisations to engage men in inclusion and promote effective allyship. He has been featured on the Startups 100 Index, has received a Great British Entrepreneur Award, and sits on the board of CMI Women, Regenerage UK and the Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. In 2024, he received the Freedom of the City of London for services to equality in business. 
He is a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences in the USA, the first Black British scientist to be awarded in it's 33-year history, received for his work on health inequalities. He is the 2023 UN Women Changemaker of the Year, and is an ambassador for the UK Governments Lilac Review for Disabled Entrepreneurship. He speaks globally on allyship and intersectionality, having taken the stage at One Young World, ChangeNOW and the Bloomberg Global Equality Summit, and is the author of the upcoming book, Momentum: Reboot Your Career, Unlock Your Potential.
Personally, he shares his experiences as a Black autistic man, a stay-at-home dad, and his journey to learn to walk again after acquiring a chronic illness. He lives near Preston with his three children.

Emily van Putten 

Emily van Putten is a seasoned Cyber Security Expert and DEI Leader, bringing over 18 years of experience in the tech industry. A four-time Microsoft MVP, Emily has built a career that blends technical excellence with a passion for inclusion. Her work spans beyond technology, focusing on reshaping how organizations think about diversity and equity in the workplace.
As a trans woman, Emily offers a unique perspective, having experienced the tech industry from both sides of the gender spectrum. This lived experience fuels her advocacy for dismantling gender norms and creating environments where everyone, regardless of their background or identity, can thrive. Her personal and professional journey makes her a powerful voice in conversations around equity, inclusivity, and leadership.
In addition Emily serves on the board of Dutch Women in Tech, where she actively mentors young professionals, particularly women and other underrepresented groups in tech. Her mentorship focuses on helping them navigate the complexities of the industry and seize opportunities for growth. She believes in leading with empathy and fostering an environment where diverse voices are heard and valued.
Emily’s leadership has been recognized on various platforms, including being named a transformative leader by The Female Factor. Her work in DEI is driven by the belief that true innovation happens when different perspectives come together, and she tirelessly works to challenge the systemic barriers that prevent that from happening.
Outside of her professional work, Emily is a prolific content creator, using her platform to share insights on gender diversity, inclusivity, and leadership. She regularly contributes to podcasts, articles, and public discussions, advocating for systemic change in the workplace and inspiring others to embrace authenticity.
Living in the Netherlands with her family, Emily balances her career with a rich personal life. She remains deeply committed to fostering meaningful connections both in her professional community and at home. Her vision for the future of tech is one where everyone, regardless of their identity, can contribute and succeed."

Melissa Mesek

Melissa founded her own business, an educational service provider, in 2014 which was successfully internationalised in 2018. The business traded internationally for two years with a business partner, including a small team, alongside Melissa. In December 2019, the business ceased trading, as both business partners moved to academia in order to pursue their postdoctoral research degrees. 

Melissa currently works as a Lecturer in Management at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland and is a Research Fellow with the European Centre of Advanced Studies. Recently, Melissa has successfully defended her doctoral thesis focusing on the empowerment of women tech entrepreneurs in the Scottish as well as Indian regional entrepreneurial ecosystems including a Feminist Economics lens, with an emphasis on public policymaking in both geographical contexts. Her research projects span equality, diversity and inclusion of minoritised and disadvantaged actors;  gender equality coupled with public policymaking; and female entrepreneurship in international, regional entrepreneurial ecosystems. One of her forthcoming book chapters includes a critical feminist exploration of her own lived experiences across the German and Scottish entrepreneurial ecosystems, reviewing the problematisation of unpaid social caregiving in the current patriarchal societal paradigms of both contexts.

Carmen Niethammer
 

Senior Gender Specialist, European Investment Bank (EIB)
Carmen Niethammer is the Sr. Gender Specialist at the European Investment Bank, the EU’s Climate Bank. Based in Luxembourg, she leads the EIB Gender Team on mobility and urban development investments and promotes women’s access to finance through commercial banking – closing gender gaps while driving gains in productivity, competitiveness, and innovation.
Much of Carmen’s work also focuses on strengthening the gender & climate-lens investing nexus. She co-authored numerous thematic and sector briefs as part of the 2x Gender-Smart Climate Finance Guide that were published at COP26. On behalf of EIB, Carmen supported the launch of EIGE’s 2023 Gender Equality Index focused on the European Green Deal. She also conceptualized and helped establish the EIB-powered EU Women Climate Leaders Network. Among others, Carmen represents EIB in the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance’s Gender Finance Taskforce.
Carmen joined EIB from the IFC/World Bank Group which included assignments in Brazil, Egypt, Sri Lanka, and the United States. She is a Senior Fellow at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.
 

Claudia Persico

VP & Rotational Director - Persico Group 
After graduating in marketing and corporate communication in Milan and after a job experience in America with a competitor, in 1998 Claudia joined the her family company, a Bergamo-based multinational leader in moulds, presses, plants and automated solutions for various high-tech sectors. Over the years, she has helped steer Persico Group's growth strategies with a decisive manufacturing leap towards technological neutrality, environmental sustainability and circular economy, investing in processes to reduce consumption and the use of renewable sources in sectors such as automotive, aerospace, nautical, urban mobility and biomedical engineering. Claudia is now Vice-President of Confindustria Bergamo with delegations for internationalisation, Europe and gender equality; of Federmeccanica with responsibility for gender culture; of the Council of Mechatronics Groups of Confindustria Bergamo; part of the board of the JEC Group; GammaDonna Ambassador; EMBA Candidate @ MIP Politecnico Milano; Banca Galileo Independent Member and SPS Italy Trade Fair Scientific Committee Member. Mother of two children, she firmly believes in gentle leadership and the constant search for the new.

Sachiko Muto

Sachiko Muto is the Chair of OpenForum Europe and a senior researcher at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. She originally joined OFE in 2007 and served for several years as Director with responsibility for government relations and then as CEO. Sachiko has degrees in Political Science from the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics; she received her doctorate in standardisation policy from TU Delft.
 

Miranda Dawkins

Miranda Dawkins is the Counsellor for Trade, Sustainability and Markets at the UK Mission to the EU, and her portfolio includes trade, energy, climate, industry, competition, transport, labour and social issues.  She has worked in the UK Civil Service since 2008 and undertaken a variety of roles in economic policy, principally trade.  From 2013-2017 she was seconded to the European Commission as part of the EU’s negotiating team for a trade agreement with the US.  From 2017-2022 she led the strategy for the UK’s transition of its bilateral trade agreements post-Brexit and subsequently the negotiations of legal aspects of the UK’s new trade agreements.  Prior to joining the Civil Service, Miranda studied English and French literature at the University of Oxford, and has since completed an executive Master’s in Public Policy at the London School of Economics.

The event will be in person in Brussels starting from 6:30 PM CET. Seats are limited! If you're based in Brussels and would like to receive the official invitation and registration link, please contact us at brussels.declaration@ewmd.org.

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