Aurora50 and financial centres to drive board-level gender balance

In a move with far-reaching effects, Aurora50 and five of UAE’s prominent financial centres and exchanges, have agreed to collaborate on enhancing female representation at the board-level.

The five financial centres and exchanges are Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Dubai Financial Market (DFM), and Nasdaq Dubai, As global economies restart in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental, social and governance (ESG), aspects - and in particular diversity and inclusion, are coming under heightened investor scrutiny.

Board-level diversity is linked to better governance and financial performance and can also contribute to greater national competitiveness.

Commending this partnership, Sheikha Shamma Bint Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Co-founder of Aurora50, said, “Collaboration and innovation within our financial sector have contributed significantly to the UAE’s position as a globally competitive market. Greater diversity will only serve to reinforce our standing.”

 “I am confident that, with our newest partners on board, we will be able to increase momentum and impact change. It is through such partnerships that we are able to grow our ecosystem and shape the future of women on boards,” Sheikha Shamma continued.

As part of the collaboration, the financial centres and exchanges will be recognised as Founding Knowledge Partners of the initiative, and commit to promoting the initiative through relevant networks and channels. As part of the agreement, the partners will also develop and deliver board-specific workshops, such as finance essentials for directors, for the inaugural “20 for 2020” participant cohort.

Khalifa Al Mansouri, Chief Executive of the ADX, remarked, “Through our partnership with Aurora50, we intend to actively participate and support the “20 for 2020” board-level training programmes, workshops and events.” Richard Teng, CEO, Financial Services Regulatory Authority at the ADGM, stated, “The ‘20 for 2020’ initiative serves as a significant contributor in progressing gender equality in the workplace. ADGM is delighted to join forces with ‘20 for 2020’ as equality forms the cornerstone of a sustainable, robust and progressive business model.”  Arif Amiri, CEO of the DIFC, reflected, “DIFC has championed gender diversity and inclusivity since establishing operations 16 years ago. During this time, we have built a reputation for accelerating women into senior positions. Over 60 per cent of DIFC Authority staff and 33 per cent of people working in the region’s largest financial centre ecosystem are female, meaning the pipeline for board positions is tremendous.”

Hassan Al Serkal, CEO of the DFM, added, “The DFM has been accelerating its sustainability and governance efforts to strengthen board diversity and inclusion in capital markets in collaboration with various institutions in the UAE and beyond. Accordingly, we are pleased to join forces with Aurora50, ‘20 for 2020’ initiative to qualify proficient women for board directorship.”

Hamed Ali, CEO of Nasdaq Dubai and Deputy CEO of DFM, said, “Emirati and other women have already played leadership roles in the exchange’s achievements and we look forward to actively encouraging more women to take senior positions in this sector.”

Aurora50 is kick-starting the discussion around board-level gender diversity with “The Board Summit”, a virtual event on 25th and 26th August, 2020. The event sessions have been carefully curated to stimulate thought-provoking discussions on diversity and inclusion, particularly among an audience of board directors and high-potential board talent.

The Board Summit titled “Pathways to Gender-Balanced Boards”, one-of-its-kind virtual event with an open invitation to all board members and CEOs of organisations listed on the ADX and DFM.

The Summit will act as a platform to further enhance the UAE as a global leader towards achieving the United Nations SDG 5 (gender equality) and will showcase the progress and achievements in driving board-level gender-balance, whilst enabling discussions pertaining on how to increase female representation on boards.

During the summit, several notable keynote speeches will be made by prominent speakers from Ministers, board of directors and subject matter experts. The two-day event is expected to announce new partnerships with local and international organisations to help advance the gender equality agenda upon the completion of the event.

WAM