Rula Al Qadi, FAB’s managing director and head of group funding, opened the Association of Corporate Treasurers’ (ACT’s) Middle East Treasury Summit by stressing the importance of diversity and inclusion in the talent pipeline. Here she sets out her personal experience in the banking sector.
I have enjoyed a long career in banking, and with over 17 years in FAB have had the opportunity to work on, and to lead, many areas. This has allowed me to build capabilities in areas across the full scope of funding, asset management and investment banking.
I have experienced opportunities to learn, to grow and to achieve my career ambitions by creating success for the bank and for our clients.
I have also benefited from working for an organisation that has genuine respect for the contribution that women can make at the most senior levels of the business – and where success is rewarded by opportunity.
FAB is fully committed to achieving its environmental, social and governance outcomes – with diversity and inclusion high on our priorities. Nowhere is that more visible than in our track record for gender inclusion. I am one of a growing number of women in senior roles at FAB in a team led by a woman – our group CEO, Hana Al Rostamani. As FAB’s group head of funding I am the first woman to hold this role, or its equivalent, in the Gulf Cooperation Council banking sector.
At FAB, we believe that if the financial industry is to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the economy, it will need to draw on the competence, commitment and creativity of both genders. And as a leading bank in the UAE, our aim is to help build a robust pipeline of talent to ensure the industry remains dynamic enough to meet the opportunities and challenges of the future.
A big part of this will be ensuring that women have the chance to not only excel, but to thrive – FAB was the first bank in the UAE to set specific targets for areas like gender equality. We also have a commitment for women to constitute 30% of FAB’s senior management by 2025 and 40% by 2030.
We are already achieving real success in building the talent pipeline to achieve these targets. FAB’s female workforce in senior management increased 150% since 2019, holding 32% of FAB’s senior and mid-management positions as of 2021. Our proportion of women in middle management roles increased from 35% in 2018 to 40.3% in 2021. Overall, FAB’s female workforce yearly increased 5.2% from 2020 to 2021.
FAB is creating careers for women that can reach to the very highest levels of our organisation. But we believe that empowering women is not just about giving them jobs. It involves putting women front and centre of priority areas and affording them opportunities to make a difference. Of equal importance is ensuring that they are visible, because when women see women do well, it inspires others to follow.
As a country, the UAE can be proud of its genuine progress on gender equality, and towards creating a society where women’s knowledge, experience and abilities are recognised, respected and promoted. At FAB, we continue to align with and support this ambition.
Rula Al Qadi is FAB’s head of group funding
To read more about the ACT Middle East Treasury Summit click here