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Gender diversity in finance & inclusive financial cultures

DIFC Global Women Symposium graphic- highlighting finance, breaking barriers, change, mentorship, and gender diversity.
Suzanne Locke 8 March 2024
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To celebrate International Women’s Day, Aurora50 and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) hosted a Global Women Symposium to shape a new narrative for the future of finance. Alya Al Zarouni, Chief Operating Officer, DIFC Authority, made the opening address, followed by a fireside chat with Dame Susan Rice, the  first woman to head a UK clearing bank. Panel discussions on gender diversity challenges in finance, the power of mentorship for the next generation of female finance leaders and best practices for inclusive financial cultures were held. Visual Facilitator created a graphic recording of the whole event.

The future of finance – Alya Al Zarouni, Chief Operating Officer, DIFC Authority

  • It’s about people
  • A lot more has to be done
  • UAE rated first for women’s empowerment in the Middle East
  • DIFC is 50 percent women
  • UAE women take leadership and represent organisations
  • There is still lots of under-representation

Dame Susan Rice – Breaking barriers

  • Be who you are: find your voice, have ambition and seek empowerment
  • Your role gives you a voice and recognition
  • Becoming a role model is a responsibility: I mentor women
  • The barriers are in our heads – mindset matters
  • When women seek advice from me, I always make time
  • Ask for help – and make others listen to you
  • Take ownership – take on the difficult assignments
  • There is momentum in the Middle East and a short distance from ideation to action
  • Different perspectives are crucial
  • Share and engage others in your success
  • Get a sense of the culture – how you behave not on your own but in front of everyone else in the organisation
  • Invest in women start-ups – not just with money but with more guidance, advice and experience
  • How to engage men? Different perspectives are critical. We are together in this – in life, the workplace and in finding solutions

Driving change: Best practices for creating inclusive financial cultures

Panellists:

  • Amna Al Owais, Chief Registrar, DIFC Courts
  • Ismahane Rahmouni-Deghdak, CFO, Gulf Countries, Schneider Electric
  • Nadia Boumeziout, Head of Sustainability and Information Governance, Zurich

Summary:

  • In ESG, inclusivity and diversity is important
  • Leadership should walk the talk
  • Create a culture of open communication and feedback
  • Public announcements make the company accountable
  • Be attractive as an inclusive workplace
  • The client base is diverse – so we must be too
  • You don’t interview talent – they interview you
  • Are there differences between industries – yes!

The power of mentorship: Nurturing the next generation of female finance

Panellists:

  • Maria Ivanova, Managing Director, Citi Country Officer & Banking Head, Citi UAE
  • Malak AlSaffar, Country Manager – Bahrain, Visa 
  • Mohammed AlBlooshi, Chief Executive Officer, DIFC Innovation Hub

Summary:

  • Mentoring is about qualities beyond industry experience
  • Own your own progress
  • Connect to the right leaders
  • Men should mentor women and women should mentor men
  • The mentor relationship is two-way – be invested and complement each other
  • A structured process is needed: either institutional mentorship programmes – Citi Bank, Visa – or projects to build skills and give exposure, training programmes etc

Gender diversity challenges in finance

Panellists:

  • Driss Belemlih, EVP, Customer Delivery, EEMEA, Mastercard
  • Hermione Harrison, Head of Governance, M/HQ

Summary:

  • An individual needs to take charge of their progress
  • A meritocracy is needed in the ‘last mile’ and in promotions
  • Move the discussion away from gender and into how to complement each other – females and males working in partnership
  • £1 trillion wealth transfer to the next generation expected in 2023 ($18.3 trillion globally by 2030) – the ‘Great Wealth Transfer’
  • Adapt to the next unexpected changes

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