The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) in co-operation with the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) yesterday announced KFH-Bahrain as the lead sponsor for the year-long campaign to celebrate and promote the role of "Women in the Financial and Banking Sector".

It is being held under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of His Majesty King Hamad and SCW president, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Held as part of Bahraini Women's Day celebrations, the series of events includes a number of roundtable and town hall sessions on the barriers and opportunities facing women in the industry and ways in which financial institutions can support their growth in the sector, mentoring programmes and other activities that will culminate in the Women in the Financial and Banking Sector Forum to be held at the Four Seasons Hotel.

These events seek to bring together industry leaders and decision-makers and provide roles models, guidance and assistance to the next generation of females who are currently climbing the corporate ladder and working to reach senior industry roles.

"We're extremely pleased to be receiving such strong co-operation from the industry and thank KFH-Bahrain for their sponsorship and support for the advancement of women in the financial and banking sector," CBB Governor Rasheed Al Maraj.

"Women have played an important role over the past 50 years in helping Bahrain develop and maintain its position as a leading regional financial centre, and the commitment shown by KFH-Bahrain and others to ensuring they continue to develop and enhance their roles and contributions will ensure that our leadership and the further elevation of the industry and its financial institutions continues strong."

As leaders in the Islamic banking sector, KFH-Bahrain's sponsorship underscores their commitment to women and their further development in the workplace among other themes and issues which will be addressed at the Forum and the events leading up to it. These include efforts to create gender fair workplaces and see the principles of equal opportunity adopted across the industry.

KFH-Bahrain chief executive Abdulhakeem Alkhayyat said empowerment and professional development of all our employees, particularly women, across the bank and our subsidiaries remains a key priority for KFH-Bahrain.

"Women have played a crucial role in developing the kingdom's financial and banking sector and in the ongoing advancement of Islamic banking industry. We are pleased to be supporting this campaign to ensure that their contributions are recognised and that the path is better paved for them to pioneer growth in the sector." - TradeArabia News Service