Gender Intelligence for Banks — Moving the Needle on Gender Equality This report is the result of a joint partnership between the International Finance Cooperation (IFC) and Habib Bank Limited (HBL) in Pakistan. The initiative’s goal is to promote gender equality within banks and to develop insights into how gender intelligence programs can positively impact organizational gender awareness, financial inclusion for women, and bottom-line results for banks.

According to the World Economic Forum, Pakistan has the second largest gender gap, ranking 143 out of 144 countries in the gender equality index. This low ranking indicates the magnitude of prevailing gender disparities in earnings, education, health, and political participation. HBL, as the largest bank (in several categories) in Pakistan has made a comprehensive effort to address gender equality for both its women employees and women customers. HBL rolled out several initiatives - these included encouraging internal diversity, developing a sales focus on women, launching the HBL Nisa brand platform, and undertaking the Gender Intelligence Training Program, which was mandatory for management and all other employees. The report analyzes the findings of how training supported women in their network.