Unlocking the potential of our unique diversity - at Standard Chartered, we define diversity as the broad range of our personal attributes, experiences, and characteristics that make us uniquely who we are
Creating a best-in-class employee experience is crucial to building success, delivering excellence for our customers and clients and making a positive impact on the communities where we operate. That starts with understanding who our colleagues are, what matters to them, and their lived experience in the Bank.
Our commitment to diversity and inclusion encompasses an aspiration to not only be the best place to work for our colleagues, but also the best place to bank for our customers and clients which is the best route to creating prosperity in our communities.
Best place to work - attracting, engaging, developing, and retaining diverse talent to maximise performance.
Building an inclusive culture as a critical lever to our business success.With a leading banking industry emale workforce composition of 29.5%. Our dedication has been acknowledged through numerous accolades. These include recognitions from the Pakistan Business Council and International Finance Corporation, OICCI (Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry), CFA Society, and Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Benchmarks (GDEIB) by HR Metrics. We were also awarded Pakistan's 1st Disability Inclusion Excellence Award by the Employer's Federation of Pakistan.
With a strong devotion to equity and fairness, we launched the Fair Pay Charter with a public declaration of our commitment to deliver fair, transparent, and competitive pay to continually improve our benefits, and support well-being and development. In addition, we have implemented inclusive policies to support flexible working, day care provision, enhanced medical benefits, and equitable parental leave. Our well-being offerings have evolved to prioritize mental health by providing Employee Assistance Programmes, Mental Health First Aiders, and a Tackling Domestic Violence and Abuse Policy.
We actively remove barriers for individuals with disabilities by increasing accessibility, launching assistive technologies, providing workplace adjustments, along with a dedicated learning and internship programmes to become a disability confident organization.
Best place to bank - providing banking products and services to fulfil the needs of our varied client base.
Introducing SC Sahar, through which we offer women an exclusive deposit value proposition tailored to their banking and lifestyle preferences.
In addition, we have sponsored Pakistan’s largest career fair for differently-abled individuals - Access. Ability. Careers. This event connected over 800job seekers with over 40 potential employers, promoting inclusivity in the workforce.
To foster a deeper understanding between our communities we also hosted the first-ever Banking Industry Roundtable on Disability Confidence. This event brought together HR heads from leading banks and regulators to discuss strategies for creating more inclusive workplaces.
As staunch advocates of diversity and inclusion, we envision our services to be accessible to all. There is constant improvement in the branch infrastructure for wheelchair users, providing Braille versions of banking forms, and upskilling staff in sign language to enhance communication across all client touch points.
We believe in prosperous communities, where we promote a varied and responsible supply chain while also investing in the well-being of our communities
Standard Chartered is committed to Futuremakers, our global initiative tackling inequality and promoting economic inclusion in Pakistan.
Through Futuremakers, we're investing USD 120 million between 2024 and 2030 to create and sustain 140,000 jobs across the world.
Futuremakers encompasses a variety of programmes that address the specific needs of young people in Pakistan.
Goal programme
Our passion for diversification extends to the education sector through Goal; our impactful girls' education programme. Goal programme uses sports, play, and life skills education to equip adolescent girls with the knowledge and confidence they need to thrive.
A key component of the Goal programme is financial education. This allows young women to equip themselves with the knowledge they need to manage their finances effectively, preparing them for future careers and entrepreneurial endeavours. Our programme has empowered over 39,000 girls across 130 schools in Karachi and Islamabad. This success story exemplifies Standard Chartered's commitment to nurturing Pakistan's future female leaders and entrepreneurs, a vital aspect of our vision for a more inclusive and prosperous nation.
Women in Tech
To truly diversify is to empower women to become leaders across all sectors, and to give their potential a platform, Standard Chartered launched the Women in Tech programme in 2019. This groundbreaking initiative tackles gender disparity in the tech space by providing female-led businesses with the resources they need to thrive. Through training, mentorship, and crucial grant funding, the programme has empowered over 100 women led businesses who have further raised over USD 16 million externally. Upon completing our fifth year in 2023, we have helped over 100 female-led businesses, tackling a wide range of challenges. From Fern-Tech innovations to advancements in health, hygiene, finance, and these women are driving positive change and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Agripreneur project
Pakistan's unique identity encompasses its rich agricultural landscape. This is why we launched the Agripreneur project, a youth-focused initiative designed to unlock the potential of rural communities.
In partnership with the British Asian Trust, we funded the programme providing specialized skills training, mentorship, and networking opportunities to over 1,300 beneficiaries aged 18-35 in rural and peri-urban areas of Punjab and Sindh, with our primary focus being on women. This programme, funded by Standard Chartered, empowered young people, particularly women, to recover from the economic challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
By equipping them with the tools they need to succeed in the agricultural sector, the Agripreneur project fosters innovation and entrepreneurship, creating a more resilient and prosperous future for rural Pakistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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