The inaugural Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society began on Thursday in Deauville, France, bringing together 90 speakers from around the world. Andrew Hill, the FT’s financial editor, is attending the event as a moderator and gives his male perspective. To comment on this blog email andrew.hill@ft.com

The FT is one of the Womens’ Forum’s official partners and will be focusing on the role of women in business over the next few days. For full coverage, including details of a live web chat on the role of women in business, click here.