Interview by David Brough
International Women’s Day 2026
Iris Van der Veken, Executive Director & Secretary General, WJI 2030
Iris Van der Veken, Executive Director & Secretary General, WJI 2030, at Maison de la Paix, Geneva
Iris, your career has been defined by a tireless advocacy for gender equality. Could you share where it comes from and what shaped your conviction that this is a “strategic imperative” rather than just a moral goal?
My commitment is deeply personal, rooted in growing up surrounded by strong women, my mother and grandmother, and empowered by a father and brother who instilled the values of courage and integrity.
Throughout my career, working in factories and artisan workshops across India, Africa, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China I saw how CEO and Board decisions directly impact lives, particularly those of women who are often the backbone of the workforce but are missing from the rooms where decisions are made.
I personally experienced firsthand, when companies create a strong culture, where there is genuine commitment from the top, where women have male allies, receive flexibility, decent wages, leadership support and recognition, a true culture of inclusiveness is built. Role models are key.
Unfortunately the world is not on track. On the contrary, we are falling behind. While women’s leadership is progressing across the global economy, the pace of change remains too slow.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report (2025), only 68.8% of the gender gap has been closed, meaning that full parity is still generations away at the current rate of progress.
Today, women represent only around 30% of senior leadership roles globally and continue to earn approximately 20% less than men on average (ILO; WEF, 2025).
Representation at managerial and executive levels remains limited: only 3 in 10 managerial positions are held by women (ILO 2025), and just 6% of CEOs globally are women (Deloitte 2024). These figures clearly show that accelerating progress in women’s leadership is not optional – it is essential.
For our industry – built on excellence, creativity, savoir-faire, craftsmanship, innovation – it is a question of attracting diverse talent, shaping inclusive supply chains and delivering a promise of trust towards today’s consumer that are more diverse than ever.
We should not forget that women drive 90 % of jewellery demand, and will control 75 % of discretionary spending by 2028.( Source Emerging Practices Nielsen)
It requires a mind-shift from everyone in our industry to work together to action and advance this agenda. It requires shaping pathways depending where you are on the journey.
And I would also like to really reiterate the importance of attracting the best talent for our industry.
Young professionals today prioritize purpose and social impact; they expect their workplaces to reflect the diversity of the real world.
If organisations want to attract top talent and connect with future consumers, inclusion must be part of their core DNA.
For companies wanting to take concrete action, what is the first step toward building a truly inclusive corporate culture?
It starts with a C-suite commitment. The tone at the top is critical to integrate gender into the business strategy. Gender equality must become the “oxygen” of an organization – strategic, long-term, and integrated into every business function, from the C-suite to the shop floor.
All functions and departments need to be involved into this process because it requires also a cultural shift within the organisation.
We ask companies to sign the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) as a foundational step. These are a set of seven principles developed by UN Women and the UN Global Compact in 2010.
They provide a roadmap for businesses to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and community.
Then the journey starts. An important step is to understand where you are, shape a roadmap step by step to action these principles.
Education and tools are critical. We have been working with companies of all sizes on actioning these principles with concrete practical guidance and examples. As regulations evolve, we have also included the compliance requirements.
What about more advanced companies? What can they do concretely?
For companies that are more advanced, we have been actively working on Gender Responsive Procurement. If we want women to be economically empowered, companies need to procure their services.
We ran the first industry pilot of the WEPs Gender-Responsive Procurement Assessment Tool. Findings revealed strong corporate gender commitments but early-stage adoption of GRP, reflecting broader industry trends: few have standalone GRP policies or strategies; supplier databases rarely include sex-disaggregated data or record whether suppliers are women-owned or WEPs signatories; no annual targets are captured for spend with women-owned or gender-responsive suppliers.
These findings led to Phase 2, focused on industry-wide accountability and supplier engagement.
Together with brands, suppliers, and experts, we co-developed practical tools to embed GRP across supply chains – not just within individual companies. We look forward to sharing the upcoming Gender Responsive Procurement Toolbox in the coming month.
This newly developed toolbox will include practical guidance on the business case, supplier engagement checklist, draft templates for contracts and codes of conduct, and a training toolkit template for suppliers.
You have spoken extensively about “Gender Responsive Procurement” (GRP). Why is the supply chain such a vital lever for change?
The private sector spends trillions on suppliers, yet it is estimated that less than 1% of that spend reaches women-owned businesses.
This represents a massive, untapped opportunity for impact. As I shared before, if we want women to be economically empowered, we must proactively procure their services.
How do you ensure that these commitments lead to real progress? What does “good accountability” look like to you?
Progress only becomes credible when it is measured and transparent. At WJI 2030, we developed the Impact Action Journey Framework, a digital-first reporting system, enabling real-time updates on sustainability progress through a dynamic disclosure platform supported by guidance and templates aligned with regulations and policies.
We see this an important tool to de-risk and build internal capacity to our members. This approach enhances transparency by ensuring information is easily accessible and claims can be supported with evidence-backed documentation.
Good accountability involves tracking specific KPIs, such as the percentage of women on boards, management leadership, equal pay metrics, and other resources allocated to gender equality.
We have been working extensively on an updated transparency and accountability roadmap with UN Women, bringing together voices from banking, fashion, and food & beverage to ensure our guidance is both ambitious and practical for companies of all sizes.
Industry associations play a key role in educating and supporting companies in implementing the tools. We are very proud to collaborate with CIBJO (The World Jewellery Confederation) and with UFBJOP (Union Française de la Bijouterie, Joaillerie, Orfèvrerie, des Pierres & des Perles). This week, AWDC hosted a roundtable discussion in Antwerp, organised by Karen Rentmeesters, CEO of AWDC, on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2026. It was an inspiring exchange, where industry leaders and champions such as Dimexon shared their vision and commitment to progress.
Roundtable hosted by Karen Rentmeesters, CEO of AWDC, on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2026 in Antwerp
Finally, what is your ultimate vision for the future of the luxury industry?
Our industry has a unique cultural influence, and with that comes the responsibility to demonstrate that beauty, excellence, and dignity for all can coexist.
With humbleness, my vision for the industry to reach a point where inclusion is part of everyone’s agenda. A place where people of different backgrounds and identities have equal opportunities to contribute to strategy, craftsmanship, and leadership across the value chain.
I believe luxury has a unique cultural influence, and with that comes a responsibility to show that beauty, excellence, and dignity can coexist.
If we move in this direction, the watch and jewellery industry will not just create extraordinary pieces – it will quietly but powerfully demonstrate how a sector can advance dignity, equality, and long‑term resilience. My hope is simply that we play our part, learn from others, and keep actioning together.
WJI 2030 Team, at Maison de la Paix, Geneva
