Gender Balance in Banking under the spotlight

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

HSBC and Bahrain’s Supreme Council for Women tackled the topic of “Gender Balance in Banking” during a webinar with Shaikha Deena bint Rashid Al Khalifa, Assistant Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Women, Chris Russell, CEO of HSBC Bahrain and Patricia Gomes, Regional Head of Commercial Banking at HSBC MENAT as guest speakers.

They addressed some of the most pressing questions about gender diversity in leadership positions in the banking and finance sector in Bahrain. “The importance of the role of women in leadership positions and more specific in banking and finance is a priority for discussion and action today,” said Chris Russell, CEO of HSBC Bahrain.

“Now, more than ever we need to make sure that we look at the barriers that are preventing women from excelling in this sector and take their rightful places in the boardrooms of the banking and finance sector. There are too few women in senior positions and this needs to change.”

Shaikha Deena bint Rashid Al Khalifa, Assistant Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Women, spoke about the national model for gender balance in the Kingdom of Bahrain as a guide for action by policymakers, public strategies, legislative bodies, program implementers and plans to ensure the real and sustainable integration of Bahraini women into the development process.

“For HSBC one of the key strategic pillars is to energize for growth which means that the bank works towards a diverse and inclusive workforce with equal representation of men and women on all levels of the bank to drive the best outcomes for customers, communities and employees.

In Bahrain, we are extremely proud of the number of women in senior positions with an equal 50/50 representation of women and men on the executive committee.” “The great challenge remains the fact that women still have to balance many responsibilities in everyday life,” said Patricia Gomes, Regional Head of Commercial Banking for HSBC MENAT. “In the new way of working with more organisations adopting the hybrid working model, these challenges might be better addressed and offer women greater flexibility to balance their commitments.”