SICO Prioritises Diversity And Inclusion In The Workplace

SICO BSC (c), a leading regional asset manager, broker, market maker and investment bank (licensed as a wholesale bank by the CBB), continues to champion the cause of diversity and inclusion with the successful completion of a 4-day interactive online diversity and inclusion training for members of its management team. The workshop, led by leadership, diversity and inclusion specialist Bushra Winter, is an integral component of SICO’s ongoing strategy to incorporate inclusive practices that empower and create equal opportunities for its employees.

“At SICO, we believe that the diversity that we are developing across the entirety of our team allows us to leverage unique backgrounds and skills that are key to our success as an organization.” said SICO CEO , Najla Al Shirawi “We are aiming to instill global best practices across the organization which will ensure equal opportunities for our employees and cultivate teams that are innovative, diverse and inclusive, and thus cement our role as a driving force across the regional financial sector with employee advancement and sustainability at the core of our operations," added  Al-Shirawi.

The workshop was held 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 was tailored to support the team’s unique goals and leadership objectives and aims to introduce robust diversity and inclusivity policies in order to continue building a diverse team and sound corporate culture across the bank. The training 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 covered.

SICO has worked to hire a diverse team representing ten different nationalities with a multitude of skills and backgrounds in order to add value to its operations. Women at SICO account for 40% of the bank’s staff, 38% of the bank’s managerial team and 33% of SICO’s Board of Directors. The bank has also successfully met local nationalization requirements, with a 70% Bahrainization rate among its workforce.