8 AUGUST2025Emirates NBD, the leading banking group in the MENAT region, has reaffirmed its devotion to women's leadership and gender balance by supporting the United Nations Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs). With the goal of deploying women for 25 percent of leadership roles by 2027, the bank continues to focus on a set of efforts aimed at establishing an inclusive and positive work culture.These encompass enhanced maternity and pa-ternity leave policy, flexible working practices, and the Career Comeback Programme for women to re-turn to work after a career break. Emirates NBD has also pledged leadership training targeted at women, unconscious bias training, and enhanced workplace facilities for women. With more than 40 percent of its employees now being women--exceeding global standards--the bank reflects significant strides to-ward gender balance.Emirates NBD's leadership, such as CEO Shayne Nelson and COO Eman Abdulrazzaq, made the point that female empowerment is not only a social obliga-tion but also crucial for driving innovation and eco-nomic development. Being in partnership with the UN WEPs also reinforces the bank's global alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and in-ternational best practices, placing it as the change catalyst for mainstreaming female empowerment in all sectors.Emirates NBD (DFM: Emirates NBD) is a top bank-ing group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye) region, with presence in 13 countries and over 9 million active customers. The Group had total assets of AED 1 trillion (approximately USD 272 billion) as of March 31, 2025. Emirates NBD has a robust regional and inter-national presence with its operations in the UAE, Egypt, India, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UK, Austria, Germany, Russia, and Bahrain and rep-resentative offices in China and Indonesia. The bank has a large network of 839 branches and 4,539 ATMs and SDMs. Emirates NBD is the UAE's most valuable financial services brand with a brand value of USD 4.54 billion. Aysha Al Haram, Department Head of the Satellite Design Department of Bahrain Space Agency (BSA), has been appointed as the co-chair of the newly formed "SSPI-WISE East" regional chapter--an affiliate of the international Women in Space Engagement (WISE) program by Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI). Her designation is a testament to Bahrain's increased global recognition and space leadership.Aysha is the initial Arab female with a top leadership position in the SSPI-WISE network, committed to increasing the participation of women and young people in the satellite and space industries. In her new position, she will push for women empowerment in the space industry in the entire Middle East and Asia and lead the push for emerging markets to become key players in the future of the industry.She has committed to advancing STEM education, initiating technical and leadership development initiatives, and establishing strong regional networks to develop engineers, researchers, and Arab women employed in space professions. Her appointment is a testament to international recognition of Bahraini women's capability in state-of-the-art technology and reinforces BSA's greater role on the world space stage.BSA Chief Executive Dr. Mohamed Ebrahim Al Aseeri wished Aysha congratulations on her appointment as a victory for empowering Arab women and strengthening Bahrain's place in the international space community. IN FOCUSEMIRATES NBD SIGNS UN WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT PRINCIPLES TO BOOST GENDER EQUALITYBAHRAIN'S AYSHA AL HARAM TAKES CO-CHAIR ROLE IN GLOBAL WOMEN IN SPACE INITIATIVE· Aysha Al Haram, Division Head of Satellite Design at the Bahrain Space Agency (BSA), has been appointed as co-chair of the new "SSPI-WISE East" regional chapter· Her appointment is a significant milestone in Bahrain's growing leadership position in the global space industry
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