Vilnius, 5 March 2026 – This week, Nasdaq stock exchanges around the world are joining the international and already traditional United Nations (UN) initiative Ring the Bell for Gender Equality. This year’s theme is Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL women and girls. The initiative serves as a reminder that gender equality is not only a social value—it is a prerequisite for long-term economic, technological, and societal progress.
In Vilnius, the event dedicated to this initiative is being organised by Nasdaq in cooperation with the associations Lyderė and Unicorns Lithuania. The discussion “Who is raising tomorrow’s generation of leaders today?” invited participants to explore the journey of young leaders: their growth environment, the influence of mentors, and how courage to step into leadership in technology, business, the creative industries, and other fields is formed.
The discussion brought together leaders from diverse sectors and young talents who shared complementary perspectives. Insights were provided by Laura Blaževičiūtė, Head of All Media Lithuania (TV3 Group) and Chair of the Board of the Lyderė association, as well as Tadas Burgaila, co‑founder of the Kilo group of companies and founder of the investment accelerator Lost Astronaut.
The voice of the young generation was represented by Ieva Kazanavičiūtė, who created her first business while still in the ninth grade. Speaking on behalf of the Nasdaq community, Gita Gliaudytė, software analyst, highlighted the importance of inspiring examples, supportive environments, and mentorship for young women.
“Although we see progress in the field of gender equality, the gap in business and technology ecosystems remains evident. GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) data show that 60–65% of business founders are men, while women make up only about one‑third. A similar situation persists in technology teams, where women often face additional barriers to entry at early stages of their careers. By joining the UN initiative, we aim not only to highlight these challenges but also to actively contribute to solutions—to create an environment in which tomorrow’s generation of leaders grows up seeing diverse role models, having supportive mentors, and opportunities to boldly implement their ideas,” says Arminta Saladžienė, Nasdaq’s Country Manager in Lithuania.
About the Initiative
In March, Nasdaq‑operated exchanges in New York, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Reykjavik, and Vilnius—together with other stock exchanges worldwide—join the global United Nations initiative. With a symbolic bell‑ringing, the initiative seeks to draw public attention to the persistent gender equality gap and encourage engagement from all genders in driving progress both in the financial sector and in society at large.
Global partners of the initiative include the UN Global Compact, the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, the International Finance Corporation, Women in ETFs, and the World Federation of Exchanges.
About Nasdaq
Nasdaq (NDAQ) is a global technology company serving the capital markets and other industries. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software and services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence. To learn more about the company, technology solutions, and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on X @Nasdaq, or at nasdaq.com.
Nasdaq Baltic represents the common offering of the Nasdaq Tallinn, Nasdaq Riga, Nasdaq Vilnius securities exchanges as well as Nasdaq CSD. Read more: nasdaqbaltic.com
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