Case Studies
Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment:
The Learning Journey of Standard Chartered Bank
Company: Standard Chartered Bank
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Global Impact
On the customer side, 80 percent of the end users of Standard Chartered's portfolio in microfinance are women. Since announcing its commitment at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2006, the bank has provided US$385 million in microfinance, benefitting over 1 million women.
Its Diva program has been rolled out in Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana. These efforts have secured Standard Chartered membership in the Global Banking Alliance for Women, a consortium of financial institutions that leverage the women's market for profit and social good. The bank is hosting the Alliance's annual summit in Singapore in October 2009.
The diversity and inclusion efforts have also paid off. Within Standard Chartered today, 21 percent of senior managers and 34 percent of middle managers are women. Also, female CEOs run country offices in diverse markets such as Lebanon, Zambia and China.
In Her Own Words:
Banking on Women Customers in India – Archana Chadha's Experience as a Bank Customer
Archana has been a successful professional and businesswoman for over thirty years in India. With a background in Information Technology, she has extended her profile to investments in real estate, financial markets, and technology-based businesses, and has been a promoter for bringing foreign investors to India. She holds a position in the governing body of a Delhi University College and actively participates in the college's operations.
Standard Chartered Bank has been her partner of choice for over nine years in her business ventures. She initially turned to the bank because of its good reputation and brand name. Her financial investments and portfolio are now completely being handled by Standard Chartered. "My interaction started with a woman banker, and I've been dealing with the same person since then," she says. "The bank has been my backbone. I have a large portfolio with Standard Chartered. And it has grown over time."
When the bank opened a women-only branch in Delhi about two years ago, Archana's account was assigned there as one of its priority customers. Archana is glad to bank at this branch. "Dealing with women only, you definitely feel more comfortable and secure. Over time, it's helped me interact [with the bank] better," she explains.
There have been other perks. On International Women's Day, the branch organized a series of training and educational sessions. Archana attended some of them. "I went to the session on Financial Planning Need Analysis, focusing on wealth management and planning for retirement. Despite being in business and handling my own finances for many years, I had not looked at things from that perspective," she says. Archana believes that further expanding female-only branches has great potential in India. She enthuses, "There is a huge market opportunity here waiting to be taken up by the women."
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In an industry known for being male-dominated, the high presence of women is encouraging. "We have fantastic female role models across the bank. This has helped enhance our image and recruit new talent," says Kari. The efforts to demonstrate that Standard Chartered is a good employer for women are paying off. Following a recent diversity campaign in India, 70 percent of new job applicants were female.
As for Goal, Standard Chartered staff note it has helped increase young women's self-confidence and education. The company has reached 430 girls directly and 21,500 family and community members through its outreach component. It has trained fourteen Goal champions who will in turn train others. Operations are being expanded, with aims to reach girls in five countries by 2012. By earning positive media attention, the program has helped enhance the bank's brand and image, and Standard Chartered staff believe may eventually help provide a pool of talented female employees.
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