International Women's Day Issue
40
What aspects of Standard Chartered gender empowerment programmes are you most proud of and why? Standard Chartered has continually championed initiatives that aim to ignite a generation of capable female leaders and entrepreneurs. For us, the journey to gender equality starts from the ground up. Our most prominent effort to promote equal opportunity is our global Women in Tech programme, which aims to support female-led start-ups and entrepreneurs in the UAE and beyond. We launched the accelerator programme for the second consecutive year in 2020, having adapted our curriculum to give a third cohort of startups the tools they need to navigate the unprecedented challenges incited by the COVID-19 pandemic through various learning modules and expert resources. The initiative has seen an incredible impact as the startups from previous cycles have raised USD 6 million in funding. How has Standard Chartered encouraged and benefited from women in leadership roles and management positions? Derived from our brand promise, ‘Here for good’, we believe that inclusion is an organisational strength, which in turn will have a positive impact on key aspects of the banks’ performance. We pride ourselves for being one of few global banks that is committed to improving gender balance and empowering women across the entire spectrum of the organisation, as we recognise that it is no longer a business issue, but a moral one.
ROLA ABU MANNEH Chief Executive Officer Standard Chartered
