GDIB Awards 2021: Diversity Hub-HR Metrics announces winners

ISLAMABAD: Diversity Hub-HR Metrics has announced the winners of the 2021 annual GDIB Awards.

Diversity Hub-HR Metrics organized annual GDIB Awards at Karachi by engaging corporate sector from all over the country. Awards are based on Global Diversity & Inclusion Benchmarks Standards, which helps organizations in aligning Diversity & Inclusion strategy social and financial impact indicators.

According to the details of the event, the ceremony kicked off with a keynote address from Sima Kamil, Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan about women’s financial inclusion, improving gender diversity, enabling banks to improve facilitation of women entrepreneurs, opportunities and challenges in women’s financial inclusion, internalize gender mainstreaming within organizations and women centric products and services.

The chief guest of the ceremony, deputy governor State Bank of Pakistan Sima Kamil said that financial institutions cannot adequately address the female market segment without addressing its internal gender imbalance.

She said that only 13% of the staff of banks and 1% of branchless banking agents are women. More women working in leadership positions at financial institutions can also aid the development of policies and practices for improving gender balance across the financial sector as well as developing women friendly products and services.

She said that financial inclusion demands that men and women get equal opportunities to access and use formal financial services suited to their needs. Currently, women are disproportionately under-served by the country’s financial system as they have far fewer bank accounts than is reasonable given that they are about half the adult population. Deputy Governor SBP further added that the absence of data and targets can dilute FI’s focus on the gender in finance, and impede development of informed policies and associated actions for closing the gender gap.

“Therefore, under the policy, all institutions under SBP’s ambit will be instructed to collect and report gender disaggregated data related to gender disaggregated outreach of products and services, to SBP,” she maintained.

Total 30 companies have won GDIB award in multiple categories. Top 3 Winner companies are Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, METRO and Engro Fertilizers Limited. Overall winners are Nestle Pakistan Limited, Pakistan Tobacco Company, Abacus, Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan Limited, Engro Energy Limited, The Aga Khan University and Faysal Bank Limited, Overall winners are Khaadi Pakistan (SMC-Pvt) Limited, The First Micro Finance Bank Limited, S&P Global Pakistan, Bank Alfalah, Hashoo Foundation, AGP Limited, Philip Morris Pakistan Limited, U Microfinance Bank Limited, KFC Pakistan, Allied Bank Limited, PTCL, TAF Foundation, ICI Pakistan Limited, Telenor, Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited, HBL, HRSG, The Millennium Education, The Millennium Universal College, and JS Bank.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021