South Africa’s Standard Bank Group (SBG) a parent to the local the Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe , targets at least 40 percent of women taking up executive positions by 2021 in a bid to attain gender equality a goal that goes arm in arm with the United Nations’ Women HeForShe brand.
The news come during the International Women’s Day commemorations across the world with the Standard Bank confirming its commitment to further equality campaign.
In a statement to the press today, the bank’s Chief Executive Sim Tshabalala said it is imperative that women get recognition to end gender imbalances among organisations across Africa as a continent.
“We recognize that it is unnatural and unsustainable to have a gender imbalance in our leadership and as a man leading an organisation which seeks to grow in Africa, I know it is imperative to address this.
“Although we have made strides, we continue to aim to achieve parity in leadership and executive positions across our operations through fair and unbiased hiring practices. We remain committed to developing and implementing enabling workplace polices, and ensuring that women have access to appropriate development and leadership opportunities.
“Standard Bank remains committed to building a diverse workforce and to continuously addressing inequality on all levels,” he said.
Standard Bank South Africa also aims to enhance the representation of women on its board from 22% (2018) to 33% by 2021 while doubling the number of female Chief Executives in its Africa regions operations from 10% (2018) to 20% by 2021.
The Standard Bank Group (SBG) will make a bold statement on International Women’s Day by changing the colour of its logos on its digital platforms from blue to magenta, the same colour as the UN Women HeForShe brand.
Standard Bank is the parent company for Stanbic Bank , which will also be participating in this digital movement.
“We can only drive Africa’s growth if we play our part in ensuring that the rights of women and girls receive equal treatment and attention.
“In the corporate world, that also means that we must create an enabling environment, free from bias, in which women are able to advance and succeed on the basis of merit and ability.”added Tshabalala.
Standard Bank’s partnership with HeForShe was announced on 26 September 2018 at a UN Women event that ran in parallel with the UN General Assembly in New York.
