Bahrain Bourse (BHB), a licensed exchange by the Central Bank of Bahrain, participated in the annual United Nations ‘Ring the Bell for Gender Equality’ initiative in conjunction with the celebration of International Women’s Day yesterday (March 8), thus marking its seventh consecutive year of participation.
The initiative, now in its 11th year with the theme, “Ring the Bell for ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment,” is a collaborative effort between the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (UN SSE) initiative, the UN Global Compact, UN Women, and the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE).
It aims to highlight the importance of advancing gender equality and empowering women across the workplace, marketplace, and community.
Bahrain Bourse said it joined 116 global exchanges and clearing houses to honour the occasion with a week of bell-ringing activities.
The bourse’s participation is consistent with its broader commitment to fostering gender equality and empowering women within the capital markets sector.
This year’s initiative engaged both male and female employees at BHB, underscoring the importance of gender parity within the organization and across the industry, it stated.
On the key initiative CEO Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: "Bahrain Bourse is proud to consistently participate in the United Nations ‘Ring the Bell for Gender Equality’ initiative, reaffirming its commitment to empowering women across the financial sector."
"By supporting initiatives like this, we emphasize the critical role of diverse perspectives in driving growth and innovation within the industry while advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 for a more inclusive and sustainable future," he stated.
In line with its sustainability action plan, Bahrain Bourse has consistently introduced and supported initiatives that promote gender diversity.
During last year’s event, BHB launched the Board Mentorship Program in collaboration with the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF), aimed at cultivating board-ready candidates through a specialized training program.
Similarly, during the 2023 ceremony, BHB announced its endorsement of the UN Women Empowerment Principles (WEP), joining over 7,000 global signatories in a voluntary commitment to advancing gender inclusion in the workplace and beyond, said the statement.
Notably, in 2019, Bahrain Bourse announced its voluntary commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative to promote sustainable and transparent capital markets as part of its sustainability journey, it added.
