Women 4 Metals initiative launched in Pirdop with the participation Matey Kaziyski and Radostin Stoychev

The Women 4 Metals initiative was launched in Pirdop with the participation of Bulgaria's volleyball legends Matej Kaziyski and Radostin Stoychev, a team of young girls from their volleyball academy and the Pirdop girls' volleyball team. 

The start of the campaign was given in Germany in 2019 at the Aurubis Group, when several enthusiasts, led by Stephanie Klein, gathered their colleagues around them with the idea of presenting metallurgy as an attractive workplace for women, in which fair labor conditions such as transparent career development opportunities, work-life balance, equal pay apply to all.

W4M's goals are to have more women in key positions in metallurgy, to develop professionally and career-wise and to raise awareness of the metal industry, for example by participating in industry exhibitions and meetings. The universal values of Women 4 Metals allow the initiative to be quickly recognized by both women and men, and now not only in Germany and our country, but also on a global scale.

From the fall of 2022, Women 4 Metals has transformed into a platform that has so far attracted six more companies and organizations. In Bulgaria, its ambassador is the young Eng. Dr. Emanuela Manolova, manager of "Business development of iron silicates" at "Aurubis Bulgaria", and the person from the Srednogorie region is Zlatka Kaneva, mayor of the village of Dushantsi.

Pirdop, which was chosen as the venue for the announcement of W4M in Bulgaria, gathered a colorful crowd of Aurubis employees, athletes and representatives of the local community for the opening of the initiative. Attendees witnessed not only a hard-fought game in which the home girls won 2:1, but also a celebration of team spirit, women's inclusion and equal rights in the steel industry.