SBI aims to enhance gender diversity, increase female workforce to 30 pc by 2030
New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, has developed a strategy to increase gender diversity, aiming to increase the proportion of its female workforce to 30 per cent within five years.
“If we talk about frontline staff, women are almost 33 per cent, but in total, they constitute 27 per cent of the total workforce. So, we will try to improve this percentage so that diversity increases further,” SBI Deputy General Manager (HR) and Chief Development Officer (CDO) Kishore Kumar Poludasu told PTI in an interview.
He said the bank was taking measures to close the gap and achieve its target of reaching 30 percent women in the workforce in the medium term.
SBI’s total staff strength is over 2.4 lakh; this is one of the highest of any organization in the country and one of the highest in the banking industry.
He also said that the bank is committed to creating a workplace where women thrive at all levels, and through targeted programs, SBI promotes leadership, work-life balance and dignity in the workplace.
Pointing out some of the bank’s women-focused measures, Poludasu said the bank provides nursery allowances to working mothers, runs a family connection program, and runs a training program to assist female employees returning from childbirth or paid or extended sick leave.
In addition, he said, ‘Empower Her’ is a flagship initiative to identify, mentor and prepare women for leadership through structured leadership labs and coaching sessions to increase women’s representation in leadership roles and create a strong pipeline of future senior female executives.
Recognizing the unique health needs of female employees, the bank has implemented focused programs such as breast and cervical cancer screenings, nutritional allowances for pregnant staff, and the Cervical Cancer Vaccination Campaign.
He added that many such initiatives have been launched keeping in mind the women and girls working in the bank.
He also said that the bank is committed to providing an inclusive, safe and secure environment for its female employees to unleash their full potential.
This is evidenced by the fact that SBI has over 340 branches across the country staffed entirely by women and this number will increase in the future.
He said that the good representation of female employees across all geographies and hierarchical levels reflects the bank’s commitment to inclusivity, adding that the bank has a dynamic and talented pool of IT specialist officers who ensure the security, efficiency and innovation of banking operations.
SBI is one of the top 50 banks in the world in terms of asset size and the bank is recognized as a top employer by various organisations.
He said the bank was at the forefront of transformation, leveraging its multifaceted framework to drive innovation in processes, technology and customer experience.
He said that by embracing new technologies and evolving customer expectations, SBI remains agile and responsive to changing business models and is constantly setting the pace rather than falling behind.
