National Bank of Kuwait is nurturing female talent and spearheading initiatives towards gender diversity and equal opportunities in the workplace.
In today’s global business environment, it’s essential for banks and financial institutions to achieve diversity and inclusivity in their workplace.
An increasing number of organisations are now recognising the benefits of having a more diverse workforce, such as increased innovation, higher employee satisfaction and better financial performance.
National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has made conscious efforts to transform traditional mindsets and establish a conducive environment for cultivating female talent and preparing them for leadership roles in the corporate world.
In this context, initiatives like the NBK Rise global women’s leadership programme, which aims to enable women to attain senior leadership positions across various business sectors, are critical to promoting gender equality in the workplace. Such initiatives also help organisations meet their social responsibilities, support sustainability objectives and foster positive change in their communities.
The NBK Rise programme is being led by Shaikha al-Bahar, deputy group CEO of NBK, and was developed by Najla al-Sager, head of talent management, and Alia Abu el-Fath, head of corporate communications at NBK Capital.
NBK Rise aims to foster positive change in Kuwait’s corporate community and support NBK’s sustainability objectives. It includes an exclusive nine-month programme that brings together female leaders from across the globe and enables participants to share their experiences and work with prestigious universities and industry leaders to develop leadership techniques.
Each participant receives mentorship and management support from experienced industry leaders. Graduates mentor future candidates, thereby creating a self-sustainable cycle of empowering female leaders.
Knowledge transfer
In addition, the programme comprises several training modules created by renowned business schools such as Spain’s IE Business School, France’s Insead and US-based FranklinCovey. These modules are designed to develop the leadership, strategic, communication and interpersonal skills of professional women participants, preparing them for higher leadership roles.
NBK’s goal is to transform attitudes and promote women’s leadership in Kuwait, the region and the world.
Universal goals
The lender committed to furthering the UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) in 2017 and supports women’s empowerment through various initiatives such as learning and development, career development, workplace gender diversity, non-discrimination, equal opportunities and providing insights from the private sector’s point of view. NBK has played a pivotal role in organising a pledge among leading regional and global corporations to increase women’s representation in leadership positions.
Additionally, the NBK Group hosted the NBK Rise exhibition at its headquarters to promote women leaders and inspire more women to take up leadership positions.
The exhibition creatively portrayed the different aspects of leadership, using installations and interactive stations to send out inspirational messages on what it takes to be a successful leader.
National Bank of Kuwait has won multiple awards at the Mena Banking Excellence Awards 2023, including Best Implementation of Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives and Best Initiative for Women in Business.