Second edition of Malta Businesswoman of the Year Award launched

The second edition of the Malta Businesswoman of the Year Award (MBWYA) was launched last week by His Excellency the President of Malta, George Vella. The award, created with the support of HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., under the patronage of the President of Malta, is designed to promote and recognise women who have achieved significant success in business, and therefore, also aims to inspire and empower women to reach their full potential.

This year’s edition of MBWYA will once again be sponsored by HSBC, together with Farsons Group and Nestle’ Malta Ltd.

The 2020 edition of MBWYA will once again be divided into a number of categories. The main award, which in 2019 was won by Natalie Briffa Farrugia, Chief Executive Officer at CareMalta Group Ltd, will be presented to a female business owner/entrepreneur, director, executive/manager or professional who has achieved outstanding success.

This will be measured in all aspects of the business, from profitability to customer relations and from strong and consistent growth to innovation and implementation. Additionally, an award will also be presented to the Young Businesswoman of the Year, a female business leader under 35 years of age who is already blazing a trail for her generation. Two company awards will also be given to recognise those businesses which display excellence in the promotion of women in business. One category will be open to smaller businesses with up to 50 full time employees and the other for larger businesses and corporations.

During a meeting held with partners of the Malta Businesswoman of the Year Awards, HE President George Vella, underlined the importance of promoting gender equality, especially from a young age, and to recognise the added value women bring to the place of work. Both sides agreed that education is key to change local perceptions and biases about women’s role in society and contribution to the country’s economy.

Andrew C Beane, Chief Executive Officer at HSBC Malta, said, “I believe that the most successful businesses are those which have diversity of thought at the centre of their culture.  While our economy has grown strongly, its full potential continues to be held back by a lack of gender diversity at the most senior levels of the country’s businesses.  These important awards, now in their second edition, shine a spotlight on the many talented female executives Malta has, creating new role models and placing positive pressure on existing business leaders to facilitate change.  At HSBC, I am proud that half of our most senior leaders are female executives, all of whom reached the highest level of the bank based on their ability and performance.”

Giuliana Isolani, Country Manager at Nestle’ Malta, said, “Globally, Nestle’ is purposefully committed about empowering women and we are proud of the fact that our company was included in the 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI). Our commitment to gender balance in Malta is equally strong and, in fact, 40 per cent of our Executive Committee are women. These numbers are the result of an embedded gender balance strategy across all our business practices and policies which support female talents to pursue their careers, such as agile work or teleworking. Our decision to sponsor MBWYA aims not only to help recognise the success of female entrepreneurs but also to encourage other businesses to actively pursue gender balance in their operations.”

Norman Aquilina, Chief Executive Officer at Farsons Group, said, “While progress has been made in creating equal opportunities for men and women in Malta, there is still a lot to be done.  Society still needs more female role models who inspire us all to strive for a better future.  Farsons is committed to supporting MBWYA precisely because it is a great platform to showcase individuals and organisations that, through a culture of diversity and equality, have achieved impressive results.”

More information on MBWYA, including on how to apply, is available at www.mbwya.com.mt. Applications close on Wednesday 1 April 2020.