ABSA REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO EMPOWERING WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

The Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Labour, Youth, Employment, and People with Disabilities), Hon. Ridhiwani Kikwete (left), presents a certificate to the Chief Executive Officer of Absa Bank Tanzania, Mr. Obedi Laiser, in recognition of the bank’s contribution as a key stakeholder in the Female Future Programme, coordinated by the Association of Tanzanian Employers (ATE). The event was part of the 10th-anniversary celebrations and graduation ceremony of the programme in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.

Absa Bank Tanzania has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting various initiatives aimed at empowering Tanzanian women and advancing their professional development in the workplace.

This was stated by the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Obedi Laiser, in Dar es Salaam during the 10th-anniversary celebrations and graduation ceremony of the Female Future programme, which is coordinated by the Association of Tanzanian Employers (ATE).

“At Absa, we have a brand promise that says, ‘Your Story Matters.’ In line with this commitment, we believe that the stories of Tanzanian women matter, that is why we decided to partner with ATE and support this initiative as sponsors, we have also been close stakeholders of ATE for the past 10 years, during which many graduates have emerged from this program, today, we celebrate four more graduates from our institution.

“One of the key reasons we continue to support this effort is that in recent years, we have experienced remarkable success in our operations, those who follow our progress can attest to this, and a significant factor behind our success is the presence of women leaders in our management team.

“At Absa, we have various departments, including four business division, three of which are led by female directors who were recently promoted to executive positions, these women are the business directors of our bank, and therefore, our achievements cannot be separated from the role played by women leaders,” said Mr. Laiser.

One of the graduates of the programme from Absa Bank, Ms. Ikunda Kishimbo, worked as Head of Resourcing, emphasized that the program has helped participants build self-confidence and enhance their professional skills in their respective workplaces.

The female future programme aims to strengthen gender equality in the workplace, improve women’s representation in management decision making processes as well as draw women to the top positions of the private and public sectors.

Since its inception in 2015, the female future programme has trained a total of 493 participants from both the private and public sectors.