Standard Chartered is first bank in Malaysia to attain certification in workplace gender equality

STANDARD Chartered has become the first bank in Malaysia to secure the EDGE certification – a renowned global business standard for gender equality, validating the Bank’s commitment in creating a gender-equitable workplace.

Achieving the “Move” level of the certification affirms that Standard Chartered Bank (Malaysia) Berhad and Standard Chartered Saadiq Berhad have established a strong institutional framework in terms of leading policies and procedures to ensure equitable career flows, especially in the areas of equal pay, recruitment and promotion, leadership development training and mentoring, flexible working and organisational culture.

EDGE, or Economic Dividends for Gender Equality, is known for its rigour and focus on business impact. The EDGE standard ensures that certified companies have a structured and systematic approach to measure, track and close the corporate gender gap by looking at both quantitative and qualitative indicators.

“We are truly proud to be the first financial institution in Malaysia to be awarded the reputable EDGE certification,” said Standard Chartered Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer Abrar A. Anwar.

“A diverse and inclusive culture is at the heart of our business. We believe that diversity – encouraging different views and opinions, and fostering constructive challenge regardless of grade, gender or race – underpins our purpose, that we cannot truly drive commerce and prosperity without fully embracing our diversity.

“We aim to build a strong diversity and inclusion (D&I) culture that is a critical lever to our business success and will enable us to be the best place to work, the best place to bank and contribute to creating prosperous communities.”

A diverse and inclusive culture is at the heart of our business,’ said Standard Chartered Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer Abrar A. Anwar.

The certification process included input from 1,114 employees who highly rated the bank for an inclusive culture based upon their employee experiences in hiring, promotion opportunities and when recommending the organisation to other men and women.

The EDGE certification noted that the bank has demonstrated a more balanced gender composition in management positions when compared against the median of diversified banks, with strong female representation within the upper management team in Malaysia, and a woman in the chair position of the board of directors.

Standard Chartered was the first in the Malaysian banking industry to offer maternity leave of 20 weeks minimum and a two-week parental leave for spouses. The bank’s leadership teams are also recognised for actively promoting the uptake of flexible work options and all genders believed that the top leadership team are visibly and systematically committed to achieving equality at the workplace.

The certification also noted that the bank is well engaged in its journey to foster an inclusive workplace for employees regardless of gender – represented by a good gender representation at each level of responsibility where both male and female respondents are optimistic in terms of career development opportunities.

Every employee’s growth plan is embedded in a performance management process based on a progressive talent management framework, and supported by various initiatives, such as mentoring and succession planning, and a digital learning platform that enables all employees to acquire additional skills and take on new roles and challenges.

Employees are given equal access to leadership development opportunities and there are systematic practices in place to ensure equal access to career-critical assignments.

“We will continue to implement policies and initiatives that promote a diverse and inclusive environment,” said Abrar.

“We also look to be more prescriptive around levers to pull to drive our D&I strategy. We are committed to providing our employees with equal opportunities, working with them to unlock their fullest potential and achieve their ambitions.

“In this regard, we continue to affirm our commitment to improve gender equality and empower women, and the EDGE certification is proof that we have made good progress in this space.”

EDGE is the leading global gender equality assessment methodology and business certification standard and has been recognised by organisations such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index.

The EDGE certification is structured as an independent third-party certification system by global audit firms specialising in certification and auditing to ensure impartiality.