KARACHI: HBL commemorated International Women’s Day 2022 by inviting Lieutenant General Nigar Johar HI(M) to a session on 14 March 2022 at HBL Tower, Karachi. Lt. General Nigar is the first and only woman in the Pakistan Armed Forces to have reached the rank of a Lt. General and is also the only woman since partition to have commanded an armed forces hospital in the country.

The session was attended by over 70 women staff from a cross-section of the Bank, including many who are a part of the senior management. Muhammad Aurangzeb, President & CEO, and the senior leadership team of the Bank were also present at the session.

Lt. General Nigar spoke at length about her life journey, breaking biases in the professional field, and the unwavering support she received from her family, specifically her father, mother and husband. Her advice to all women in the professional field was to work hard towards their dreams and believe in themselves. She emphasized that empowerment starts with one’s self, women need to take charge of their own lives, establish their own identity and stand up to all the challenges as they continue to work side by side with their men counterparts.

She also spoke about the need to have diversity not just in numbers but in managerial positions of leadership. She said, “Women need to be decision-makers; they need to be policymakers. It is important for women to be in these roles, as only that will lead to a shift in the mindset and the culture. Men alone cannot be making decisions for women.”

Commenting on the occasion, Muhammad Aurangzeb, President & CEO – HBL said, “With 20 percent of the HBL staff being women, we will continue to drive gender inclusion with more and more women in senior leadership roles.” The session concluded with a collective thought of fostering a collaborative work environment between men and women and promoting gender partnership through equity and inclusion within workplaces across Pakistan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022