International finance centre Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has launched a gender equality initiative to bolster the number of women across all job functions in financial services.
This is in line with the UAE government’s Vision 2021 of enhancing gender equality in the workplace and the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, minister of state (UAE) and chairman of the ADGM, said: “Gender equality is the basis of a strong and progressive society. Sheikh Zayed, the father of our nation and a visionary, established the foundations for a gender-equal society and we aim to continue building on his legacy and accelerate progress in this direction.
“One of the goals under Vision 2021 is to achieve gender balance which includes committing to and oversight of gender balance, engage personnel towards gender balance and implement gender balance in leadership positions, among others.
“The UAE has a commendable record when it comes to gender equality at entry-level, but the proportion of women in senior and leadership roles remains an area for greater improvement, with women filling in only 17% of all senior positions.
“We believe that providing a more balanced, better skilled and happier workforce is essential for the growth of an organisation and society at large. ADGM’s commitment to gender-equality is both the right thing to do and has been proven to be good for business globally.”
Programme
The ADGM’s gender equality initiative will revolve around three programmes.
These include:
- Leading by Example: Defining clear and measurable gender equality objectives to support the progression of women into senior roles. This includes succession planning and educational programmes to tackle unconscious gender bias during the hiring process. Working in line with the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) to promote gender equality within its International Financial Centre and encourage its registered entities to sign the WEPs to drive change for gender equality.
- Working Collaboratively: Committing to identifying and sharing potential impediments and best practices. Working closely with associations in order to develop a collaborative approach through road shows and engaging with women directly. Reaching out to female entrepreneurs and improve access to finance for women. Collaborating with other entities such as 30% Club, WiSER (Masdar) and the UAE Federal Statistics and Competitiveness Authority to find areas for mutual cooperation and collaboration.
- Championing Effective Change: Promoting gender-lens impact investing through supporting fund initiatives that provide financial support to projects with products and services aimed at addressing gender issues or promote gender equality or financial or education services in UAE priority sectors. Through its ADGM Academy, developing and promoting women’s leadership programme and scholarships together with CFA Institute.
