Bloomberg L.P. launches G.C.C. gender diversity initiative

Ahead of International Women’s Day, Bloomberg L.P. announced today the launch of its G.C.C. gender diversity initiative, A Fair Share. The initiative advocates for gender equality in the financial industry, engaging with a wide variety of market participants and stakeholders, including government agencies and regulators, to help unlock a valuable pool of talent. This will primarily be done by collaborating with existing initiatives to provide knowledge-sharing sessions, supporting women in their progression from entry-level to the first step up to a managerial position. So far, approximately 60 women in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have taken part in these sessions, with more planned across the Gulf in 2020.

Commenting on the launch, Benjamin Grolimund, Regional Manager, Middle East & Africa – Financial Products, Bloomberg L.P, said: “At Bloomberg, diversity and inclusion are central to our success. Our culture values difference, fosters inclusion and promotes collaboration, because the data shows us that when every employee is empowered this has a positive impact on our business. I have witnessed this firsthand in teams that I have been part of and managed, so I am thrilled to be part of this regional initiative.”

A Fair Share is supported by an Advisory Board which is comprised of a number of leading executives from the G.C.C.’s financial industry, representing regulators, the buy-side and sell-side. The Advisory Board includes: Rola Abu Manneh, CEO for Standard Chartered, U.A.E.; Zaid Al-Qaimi, CIO, Kimera; Yasmeen Al Sharaf, Head of Fintech and Innovation, Central Bank of Bahrain;  Magda Kandil, Chief Economist, U.A.E. Central Bank and Camilla Macapili Languille, Head of Pharma & Medtech, Mubadala.

As part of Bloomberg’s diversity and inclusion efforts, the New Voices initiative was expanded to the Middle East . The program, which is funded by Bloomberg, provides one-on-one media training for top women executives in finance and business with the goal of getting the women TV-ready for interviews on Bloomberg TV and other outlets, ultimately improving the representation of women experts and opinions in the media industry.  Bloomberg trained 156 women across the globe in 2019. The program is continuing into 2020 and applications can be submitted here.