An event took place with great success and public participation at the Consulate General of New York, on Wednesday March 8th, at 6.30 pm, to celebrate the International Women's Day.

Panelists of the event were five women from Greek-American Community, who have each excelled in their field: Judge Madeline Singas (New York Court of Appeals), Paulette Poulos (Executive Director of the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Fund Inc.), the internationally renowned chef Maria Loi, Elisa Konofagou (Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology at Columbia University of NY) and Maria Vassalou (Co-chief investment officer of Multi-Asset Solutions within Goldman Sachs Asset Management). The event was moderated by the well-known presenter and president of New Greek TV, Yanna Darilis.

The event was graced with the presence of the Permanent Representative of Greece at the UN, Ambassador Evangelos Sekeris,  the General Secretary of Demographic and Family Policy and Gender Equality, Kalypso Goula –Official Representative of Greece in the Commission on the Status of Women 2023 to the UN - who addressed the event, as well as the MP Maria Alexandra Kefala and the Vice President of the Women's Organization of the European Socialist Party, Zefi Dimadama.

At the beginning of the event, a minute's silence was observed in memory of the victims of the train collision tragedy in Tempi, and then a pre-recorded message of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, on Women's Day was broadcast.

The Consul General of Greece in New York, Mr. Dinos Konstantinou, in his speech said that for the first time such an event is taking place at the Consulate General of Greece in New York. He added that the celebration of Women's Day around the world is for the rights, equality and status of Women in the world. Such values that should be normal, but unfortunately are still being pursued, as he characteristically underlined. He also pointed out that legal equality does not bring about substantial equality of the genders and referred to a UN Report that estimates that gender equality will be achieved after 300 years.

He then referred to the renowned five honored women of the event, the 5 brilliant stories of the Greek-American community - as he described them - who excelled in mainly male-dominated fields and whose career proved that a woman can succeed at least as well as a man. Finally, he expressed the hope that their testimonies will be a source of hope and inspiration for the young women who were present at the event.

Afterwards, under the coordination of Yanna Darilis, the five honored women presented their careers in the fields they excelled, the difficulties they faced and especially the difficulties due to gender, family obligations and their efforts for balancing work and family life.

They also presented their experiences of distrust for their professional competence mainly in male-dominated fields. They emphasized that although these difficulties forged their determination, they had to try harder than men in order to gain professional recognition and equal pay with their professional male colleagues, but also the additional benefits that are related to their gender, such as maternity leaves.

Addressing the new generation of women, the 5 honored panelists advised them to have the confidence to claim their rights and the perseverance to fulfill their dreams.