On the eve of International Women’s Day (IWD) eight successful women, part of Technical University (TU) Sofia’s alumni network, participated in a panel discussion, that took place at the university’s Informational Center. The Bulgarian Fund for Women (BFW) had the honor to be аn official partner of the event. Vanya Kaneva – HR Director at CEZ Bulgaria, Tsvetoslava Kyoseva – Vice President at Methodia, Vesela Kalacheva – Chief Executive Officer at Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies (BAIT), Galina Tosheva – managing partner at 3Be Advisory OOD, Desislava Aleksieva – Manager Marketing & Sales at TECHEM EOOD, Manoela Georgieva – managing partner at ATM Consulting Partners OOD, Elena Urumova – founder and owner of the “Lena-Lena” fashion brand and Emilia Lazarova – Headmaster of 2nd English Language School “Thomas Jefferson” in Sofia, took part in the discussion. Each one of them has a great experience and has proven to be a leading professional in their own area of expertise, most of which have been dominated by men until recently.
Among the official guests were the Dean of TU Sofia prof. Georgi Mihov and Yordanka Chobanova – Advisor to the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, who opened the event. BFW’s Director of Communications and Fundraising – Gergana Kutseva also made an official address.
The panel discussion was dedicated to the IWD, celebrating and appreciating women’s economic, political and social achievements. All participants stated without a doubt that the road to success is paved with effort, persistency and a pinch of good luck, but also pointed out the need of higher number of women in leading positions both in private and in public sector. The CEO at BAIT Vesela Kalacheva stressed the importance of support and mentorship help in the professional development of each woman. According to her the most difficult barriers to overcome, are the one that women themselves create.
