ESG

SICO Successfully Conducts Two Diversity and Inclusion Activities

SICO successfully conducted a four-day interactive online diversity and inclusion training in April for members of its management team, with the aim of creating awareness about the differences and uniqueness of the team and seeing individual differences as an opportunity for innovation and growth. It also organized, in cooperation with Bloomberg, a diversity and inclusion session in July for the rest of its employees.

The online training, which was led by leadership, diversity, and inclusion specialist Bushra Winter, was tailored to support the team’s unique goals and leadership objectives and sought to introduce robust diversity and inclusivity policies to continue building a diverse team and sound corporate culture across the bank. It also highlighted the benefits of a diverse and inclusive workforce, which leads to improved performance, a healthy workplace, increased employee satisfaction, and better innovation across the organization. Important topics such as how to incorporate inclusive practices into SICO’s recruitment and workplace strategy, how to remove unconscious bias, and strength-based approaches to leadership were also covered. 

The session was hosted by Manisha Mehrotra, Head of Diversity and Inclusion for Europe Middle East and Africa at Bloomberg LP, as well as Sonia Meggie, an Inclusion Consultant at Business in the Community (BITC). It covered several key topics including an introduction to diversity and inclusion, the business case for incorporating diversity and inclusion as a strategic objective in companies as well as the case for allyship in the workplace.

The two events fall in line with SICO’s ongoing strategy to incorporate inclusive practices that empower and create equal opportunities for its employees.

SICO Allocates Resources to Support Shamsaha NGO During Ramadan

During the holy month of Ramadan, SICO allocated its resources to support the efforts of Bahrain-based non-profit Shamsaha, the Middle East’s only crisis response center for women in search of empowerment, independence, and safety. 

The resources were allocated to empowering women who have experienced domestic abuse by covering expenses such as medical bills, transportation, emergency food and shelter, along with skills development, microfinance, employment, and legal aid.

The initiative falls in line with SICO’s longstanding commitment to giving back to its local community and supporting women and vulnerable segments as well as paving the way for a safer world for women everywhere.

SICO Supports Shaikh Ebrahim Center

SICO supported the efforts of the Founder and Chairperson of the Board of the Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Center for Culture and Research (Shaikh Ebrahim Center), H.E. Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa.

The Shaikh Ebrahim Center was established in 2002 as a forum for dialogue between people in philosophy, literature, poetry, culture, and the arts. Since its inauguration, it has hosted over 400 speakers, philosophers, poets, and thinkers, who have presented their thoughts in the center’s weekly lecture program. Additionally, the center has also restored around 10 traditional Bahraini houses in Muharraq and Manama, many belonging to leading Bahraini personalities or families.

SICO Participates in Bloomberg’s A Fair Share Initiative

SICO has participated as a mentor in two Bloomberg Vision events, as part of Bloomberg’s G.C.C. gender diversity initiative, A Fair Share, on April 8 and June 23.

During the first event, SICO’s Senior Investment Research Analyst Sumaya Al Jazeeri, alongside a Bloomberg employee and several CIOs of family offices and heads of desk, mentored 25 female students in Saudi Arabia. The second event saw a one-hour networking session in which female fellows of non-profit organization Re;Coded were matched with SICO’s Assistant Vice President Sawsan Abdulaziz, finance professionals, as well as Bloomberg engineers and employees. The session was part of a two-hour interactive online workshop to educate the fellows on how to build careers in the fintech and hear from senior female professionals in the Middle East's finance industry.

The A Fair Share 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 is primarily 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. The sessions are conducted globally and aim to give students insight into essential market data for the effective functioning of financial markets.

SICO Holds First Virtual Town Hall Meeting in 2021

SICO held its first virtual town hall meeting for 2021 on March 7 where CEO Najla Al-Shirawi thanked the team for their resilience and adaptability, and shared key updates on the business and the year ahead.

SICO Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Warsha Consultancy and Development to Collaborate on Support and Accelerate Women’s Inclusion (SAWI) Project

SICO signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Bahrain-based social enterprise  Warsha Consultancy and Development (Warsha) to establish a framework for their collaboration on the Support and Accelerate Women’s Inclusion (SAWI) project, organized by the Center for Inclusive Business and Leadership for Women (CIBL) at the American University of Beirut.  The MOU was signed by SICO’s Head of HR and Administration  Nadia Albinkhalil and Warsha’s Founder  Sabeeka Alshamlan. 

The SAWI project is a two-year project funded by the US State Department and the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI and is being implemented in the Kingdom of Bahrain in collaboration with the Supreme Council for Women (SCW). It aims to partner with 10 transnational Bahraini employers from the higher education, STEM, healthcare, and banking sectors to develop, improve, and implement inclusive policies and practices for improved recruitment, retention, and promotion (RRP) of women. 

The agreement outlines the basis for collaboration in matters of mutual interest related to improving inclusive HR polices relating to the RRP of women in the Kingdom of Bahrain in general and SICO in particular under the SAWI project. It tasks both parties with working closely to draft or improve new and existing policies focused on improving RRP for women, removing barriers and supporting women’s employment in SICO as well as proposing concrete initiatives that support the implementation of the new and updated policies. The MOU will remain in force until February 28, 2022, with the possibility of renewal. 

SICO Launches E-Waste Initiative to Recycle Electronic Waste

SICO launched its electronic waste (e-waste) initiative in partnership with Crown Industries, the pioneer re-cycling operation in Bahrain. The initiative involves the collection and recycling of unwanted and discarded electronics such as mobile phones, computers, and televisions and other personal electronic equipment, with the aim of saving space and reducing storage costs, offsetting the negative impact of e-waste on the environment, and achieving SICO’s sustainability objectives.

The process starts by e-waste collection after SICO’s IT team ensures the removal of any sensitive data. Afterwards, Crown Industries loads and transports the items and exports them to different parts of the world for recycling according to international standards. At the end of the process, companies receive monetary compensation for each e-waste certificate.