The lockdown has dramatically impacted many household economies and, unfortunately, has also led to a 20-percent increase in levels of domestic violence globally since early March. Vivid images of unimaginable horrors reported in the media led the Alliance to look into this pandemic within the pandemic to understand member responses. As always, we found rich learning that others can emulate.
A must-have is a corporate policy to assist employees who are victims of domestic violence and a support package for customers. A brave-to-have is a communications campaign that creates awareness of this issue. Examples of each were shared by Westpac, Banco BHD León, Royal Bank of Scotland and the Inter-American Development Bank during our special “Business Responses to COVID-19” webinar on the topic.
This series continued throughout the month with both Itau Unibanco and Kenya Commercial Bank sharing impressive initiatives to support employees and customers alike. Both also reported a significant increase in customer use of digital channels, illustrating that the predicted acceleration due to COVID-19 is taking place.
The race is on in the financial services sector to deliver high-impact digital customer journeys, and so, too, for the Alliance. This year our Annual Summit, hosted by Mastercard, will be virtual and take place October 6-8. Packed with new and proprietary research, the 2020 eSummit will be an unparalleled opportunity to share information and network within our ever-expanding female economy ecosystem.
Building a gender diverse and inclusive workforce has never been as crucial as it is today, with companies’ practices are put to the test in this pandemic. This month we’re proud to launch a new Case Study series on gender diversity and inclusion. The first one profiles Westpac’s Road to Reaching 50% Female Leadership and is a must-read. We thank Westpac for being such an amazing guiding light.
We welcome our newest partner, CDC, and thank the team for its support in producing this Case Study series and expanding our gender diversity and inclusion practice area.
We also extend a very warm welcome this month to our newest member, Enat Bank. We interview ed Wondwosen Teshome, President, to learn about the bank’s impressive beginnings, including being founded by women, and its focus on being the bank of choice for all women in Ethiopia.
And last, but by no means least, our network news roundup shares the latest news from our members and stakeholders.
Thank you all.
In community,
