make important decisions when faced with necessity, during critical situations. let us hope that it is possible to dispel that perception, by taking full advantage of the existing proposals and ongoing debate – which should be open and inclusive – to adopt the necessary measures to improve the working of the european union and, in particular, the economic and monetary union. in fact, we should avoid doing so under pressure from a new crisis. only the future will show if we are able and willing to make the necessary decisions so that the european union will be the “ community of destiny ” as joseph weiller put so well, and as its founders intended. thank you for your kind attention. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches

discovering female talent within dnb, too, women tend to wait until the organisation notices their management potential. the human resources department hence engages in active dialogue with dnb ’ s female staff. in this way hr officers detect management potential and gain an overall impression of women ’ s professional desires and ambitions and the obstacles facing them in their career. our terms of employment are already conducive to female participation thanks to the opportunity for a 36 - hour working week over four days and partially paid parental leave. moreover, working times at dnb are flexible. we aim to support talented women with the ambition to become managers. through our “ empower yourself ” workshops and mentoring, women with valuable capacities can be identified and encouraged to profile themselves as management candidates. as our mentoring system had proved itself in practice as an effective development tool, we decided to radically expand it in 2009. part of the success of mentoring is that it is an easy and quick way for adults to learn. 5 ) management targets the success of these diversity measures hinges on management commitment. when we introduced this diversity policy we made managers aware of the prejudices against women, but also of the benefits they bring to the workplace. diversity, in a broader sense too, was highlighted through workshops and seminars. bis central bankers ’ speeches all managers at dnb are required to set personal performance targets for promoting diversity. the point is not to meet a specific target figure but to give an undertaking to actively support more diversity. role models are also important within dnb. role models make employees aware of the effect of their own behaviour and create support for the envisaged changes. a women ’ s network at dnb organises a wide range of activities for all dnb staff. as of 2007, a man or women who acts as a role model for others is chosen from a shortlist. a person who makes an significant contribution to shifting the boundaries within dnb is awarded an annual trophy. i am honoured to say that the trophy bears my name because, thanks to my position, i can act as a role model for many female colleagues. i ’ m sure you are wondering whether our measures have worked. fortunately, the answer is unmistakably yes. we are on track, and it now looks as if women will fill 32 % of management positions at dnb in 2012. finally, i ’ d like to share a key insight : recruiting talented women takes a woman ’ s touch. bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’