In a country where fewer than 1 in 4 working-age women participate in the labor force and less than 15 of women are banked, Habib Bank Limited’s bold D&I strategy changed the company culture, multiplied the number of women in its ranks, and drove measurable business results–driving change from the inside out.
This GBA InBrief explores the key benefits and challenges of implementing comprehensive gender D&I strategies, particularly as they relate to FSPs’ approaches to capturing the Women’s Market. It explores the experiences of GBA members in their journeys to become both an employer and a bank of choice for women, and provides key recommendations for FSPs seeking to embark on similar journeys.
This IFC study of the workforce at GBA member HBL in Pakistan examines the differences between employees who underwent gender awareness training and those who did not, finding striking results about the benefits of such training.
The Gender Intelligence training HBL implemented was intended to turn branches into a safe space for women and help bank employees serve them better. The training counterbalances stereotypes through data, statistics and best practices from other markets in order for all employees to understand and recognize the business case for targeting women, the CVP and individual and organizational gender biases.
Roofi Jamil shared insights on how HBL has conducted Gender Intelligence training in its branches and the results it has had so far, in this presentation from the 2016 GBA Summit.
Assuming that gender differences that exist in the world outside the bank disappear when people walk through the door has resulted in high levels of dissatisfaction from one of the world’s most powerful economic forces: women. This report reveals the implicit problems with gender- neutral banking, as a follow-up to 2014’s “How Banks Can Profit from the Multi-Trillion Dollar Female Economy.” (Version en español)
