KARACHI: “On the National Working Women’s Day let’s celebrate and acknowledge the valuable role and contributions of our women in nation building and economic development of the country. The founder of the nation Quaid-e-Azam M A Jinnah rightly said, ‘No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by side with you’.”

In his message to mark the ‘National Working Women’s Day’ issued on Thursday, Governor of State Bank Jameel Ahmad also said: “Recognizing their important role, SBP has taken a number of steps towards financial inclusion of women. Foremost, SBP’s “Banking on Equality” initiative envisions greater engagement of women in the financial sector – through increased employment in financial institutions as well as enhanced access to financial services.

“Setting a positive example of promoting employment of women in the banking and financial sectors, SBP has recently hired the first batch of female officers under its “Emerging Women Leaders Initiative” (EWLI). This women batch hiring is in addition to their recruitment through SBP’s routine hiring processes, such as under the State Bank Officers Training (SBOTS) Scheme. With the induction of female offices under EWLI, the ratio of female officers to total employees in SBP increases from 12 percent to approximately 17 percent.

“SBP considers it is imperative to support the career progression of the women employees and encourage them to aim for leadership position with the hope that in the coming years women in leadership position should become the norm, not the exception. In this context, a number of specialized training programs are available for women employees to develop necessary skill set and competencies that are required for leadership positions.

“To mark this National Working Women’s Day, we must acknowledge the contribution of women in our economy and also recognize the unique demands on women in their roles as primary nurturers and caretakers of their families, young and old. To encourage greater participation of women, we as an industry must provide women friendly work environment and facilities where women can thrive and contribute their full potential towards the nation’s progress.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022