Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB), one of the Kingdom’s leading banks providing digital financial solutions, reiterated its support for the empowerment of women in the Kingdom’s financial sector by incorporating clearly defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in its 3-year sustainability roadmap. This is in line with the Bank’s strategy to systematically integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting considerations into its operational framework, which includes continuing to improve its ability to attract and retain female talent.

Currently, the Bahrainization rate at the Bank is 93.4%. Notably, since 2016, BisB has been able to increase the percentage of its female workforce employed and is proud of its culture of equal opportunities, which has elected women to leadership positions, including to the board of directors. administration of the Bank. Commenting on the occasion, BisB Managing Director Hassan Jarrar revealed: “The Bank has always prioritized the need to develop leaders in the industry, embracing a work culture that inspires innovative thinking and problems solving. We have always viewed our own employees as our most valuable asset, striving to empower our human capital by providing them with a learning and skills development platform to equip a successful workforce. A future-ready industry that offers equal opportunities for both sexes, while maintaining a transformational mindset and a culture of innovation from the inside out. ”

As part of the Bank’s commitment to provide equal opportunities for all, the Bank’s human resources policy has been updated to include benefits that better meet its female workforce, including reducing working hours for new mothers to six hours, up to 45 days after giving birth. In addition, the policy offers increased benefits to mothers, offering them the option of taking unpaid leave for a maximum of 6 months at a time, for a maximum of three intervals; increase in breastfeeding hours, paid leave to vaccinate children under 2 and paid leave for the birth of grandchildren, to which are added 45 days dedicated to the death leave of their spouse.

Commenting on the occasion, Afnan Saleh, Director of Human Resources at BisB, said: “At the heart of our human resources practices at the Bank, we seek to promote a diverse workforce and ensure a supportive environment. work that empowers women is our top priority. Bahrain Women’s Day comes to further recognize our role in supporting women in the workplace, where we continue to provide equal opportunities. This year alone, we have witnessed the participation of 99% of our employees in 199 courses which aim to refine and further develop their soft skills and techniques, equivalent to 4,730 hours of training, with an average of 41.5 hours of training. for each employee The percentage of employees holding a professional certificate is 32%, out of 34% of the total percentage of women working at BisB. We are proud that the proportion of women among senior management and board members of the Bank has reached 43%. ”

With the theme of Bahraini Women’s Day in 2021 being “Bahraini Women in National Development – A March of Progress in a Dedicated Nation”, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Supreme Council for Women as national monument concerned with the advancement of Bahraini women. In addition, it thus marks the Kingdom’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of the National Action Charter which paved the way for the completion of women’s political rights and the resumption of their active participation in various fields.