The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) and the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) have in partnership with industry leaders announced a year-long campaign promoting women in the financial and banking sector.

This follows a high-level meeting yesterday (February 15) with leaders of Bahrain's finance and banking industry to discuss plans and support for Bahraini Women's Day 2015, which is set to be held under the theme 'Women in the Financial and Banking Sector' as announced by Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of His Majesty King Hamad and Supreme Council for Women president, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The meeting, which was held at the CBB, was chaired by CBB Governor Rasheed Al Maraj and the SCW secretary-general Hala Al Ansari.

They briefed industry representatives on the significance of this year's theme given Bahrain's position as a leading regional financial centre for more than 50 years and the particular importance of the industry to the national economy.

Industry leaders were asked to pledge their support to a year-long campaign of activities that will celebrate achievements and contribution of women in finance and banking in the kingdom in the lead-up to Bahraini Women's Day on December 1.

The schedule of programmes will not only highlight the important role that women have played to date in driving growth and industry development.

They will also be aimed at strengthening the presence of women across all areas of the financial and banking industry, attracting new talent and the creation of even greater opportunities for women to excel, rise to leadership positions and, ultimately, pioneer further industry advancement.

“Over the past five decades, we have seen women play a significant role in the kingdom's financial services industry and are delighted that the SCW has named 2015 as the year to celebrate their achievements,” Al Maraj said.

“More than just commemorating the work of women in the industry, however, we urge financial institutions in Bahrain to mark the occasion by refocusing and recommitting themselves to encouraging the further hiring of women, making greater investments in their training and development, working to overcome all the obstacles that hinder the development of women and ensuring their career progression to the highest levels.

“While important steps have already been made on each of these fronts, we hope to see even greater advancements take place this year, which is dedicated to the accomplishments and future prospects for women in the financial and banking sector.”

Al Ansari said the day marks an important opportunity to highlight the work and contribution of women across various sectors of the economy and the banking and finance industry was chosen this year due to its great importance to the economy, given its position as the largest supporting sector, and the extraordinary accomplishments of Bahraini women in banking and finance.

“As part of our efforts to commemorate women in the sector, there is a need to develop a set of recommendations on how improvements can be made to the work environment for women and how their successes can be better highlighted in order to guarantee them equal opportunities as well as enhance the ability of the industry to attract new female talent including recent university graduates,” she added.

“We look forward to working closely with the sector and thank them for their ongoing efforts to promote women in finance and banking and for their co-operation and commitment to this year's programme to honour women and enhance their role in the industry.”

The year-long Women's Day calendar of activities focused on 'Women in the Financial and Banking Sector' will soon be announced by the SCW and the CBB with the support of Bahrain's financial services institutions and other related organisations. - TradeArabia News Service