KUWAIT: On the occasion of International Women's Day, Gulf Bank's Human Resources department organized a workshop for all bank employees to attend titled "Levelling the Playing Field", which has a number of leaders from the bank participating by sharing their wisdom and success stories in relation to empowering women. The workshop included a panel discussion that revolved around topics that affect women in the workplace, such as: self-empowerment, how to be an ally to your colleagues, different ways to balance work and social life, and showing appreciation to those who deserve it.
The workshop panelists were: The Deputy General Manager of Corporate Banking, Faisal Algharabally. The Deputy General Manager of Consumer Banking, Head of Marketing, Najla Al-Eissa. The Assistant Manager of Corporate Banking, Noura Al-Houti. The Executive Manager of Human Resources, Hamed Al Tamimi.
On this occasion, Salma Al-Hajjaj, General Manager of Human Resources, stated that Gulf Bank's interest in women empowerment is to implement the bank's strategy for 2025, which is also aligned with the United Nations' Sustainable Development goals that advocates for equal rights in the workplace and society. This was also incorporated in the decision of the Gulf Bank's Board of Directors to cancel all cases of discrimination between male and female employees to ensure equality, which makes Gulf Bank the first to implement this decision in Kuwait.
Hajjaj indicated that these activities aim to shed light on the importance of empowering women at the bank and in society. By exchanging success stories to raise awareness, Gulf Bank takes the leading role in the banking and commercial sector. "Our employees make us proud as we firmly believe that establishing a working environment that promotes equality will support and empower women at the bank and help us achieve even greater success. It also creates a healthy work environment for all employees, thus, allowing Gulf Bank to be the preferred working destination in the Kuwaiti financial sector," she added.
She noted by empowering women at work, there will be an increase in talent and expertise at the bank since they will be working alongside their male colleagues. This will diversify the innovative ideas in different fields at the bank. It will create a healthy competitive atmosphere that will encourage employees to reach leading positions, which will support Gulf Bank in the decision-making process that contributes to the bank's strategy and achieving goals.
She concluded by stating: "Our employees are the reason behind our success at Gulf Bank, and for this reason, we always work towards creating a healthier work environment that is based on equality and fairness, while engaging and empowering the employees to advance their careers and maintain the bank's status as an employer of choice for current employees and job seekers."
Gulf Bank's vision is to be the leading Kuwaiti Bank of the Future. The bank is constantly engaging and empowering its employees as part of an inclusive and diversified workplace in recognition of every employee's role in delivering customer excellence and serving the community at large. With its extensive network of branches and innovative digital services, Gulf Bank is able to give its customers the choice of how and where to conduct their banking transactions, all while ensuring a simple and seamless banking experience. Gulf Bank is committed to maintaining a robust sustainability program at the community, economic, and environmental levels through sustainability initiatives that are strategically selected to benefit both the country and the bank. Gulf Bank supports Kuwait Vision 2035 "New Kuwait" and works with various parties to achieve it.