APICORP HOSTS #SWITCHEDONTOCHANGE – A REGIONAL WEBINAR DEDICATED TO WOMEN IN ENERGY

• #SwitchedOnToChange launched in honor of International Women’s Day
• Webinar part of a wider campaign to tackle key issues women face in the energy industry

Dammam, Saudi Arabia, 03 Apr 2022: The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), a multilateral financial institution, hosted a special webinar aimed at tackling the underrepresentation of women in the energy sector. Entitled #SwitchedOnToChange, the webinar serves as the launchpad for a wider campaign related to several key issues women face in the sector.

Exploring how to build gender-balanced boardrooms at the two-hour webinar were Farah Foustok, CEO of Lazard Asset Management GCC and founder of the 30% Club MENA; Alisha Fernando, Head of D&I for Bloomberg, APAC; and Basema Almahroos, Head of Portfolio Management, APICORP. During the webinar, the panel discussed a range of issues relating to the crucial contribution that a gender-balanced workforce makes to corporate performance and the energy transition.

“Gender diversity sits at the center of optimizing our business performance. Time and time again, studies show that driving gender diversity allows companies to tap into a wider talent pool, provide different perspectives, enhance collaboration, enhance staff morale, and improve recruitment and reputation. And all of these are critical factors that facilitate innovation, increase productivity, and positively affect the bottom line. By fostering an inclusive environment, supporting flexible work policies, and ensuring there is a greater commitment to creating opportunities for women leaders, energy companies can harness the broadest and most innovative range of voices possible.” Ahmed Ali Attiga, CEO at APICORP, noted in the webinar’s introductory remarks.

Following that, Laudy Lahdo, Partner M.E at Full Impact Advisory, who served as moderator, spoke about the importance of ESG in measuring corporate performance beyond financials, saying, “Today, a business strategy that considers ESG criteria is no longer just a nice ‘to-have’ but indeed a ‘must-have’. ESG analytics and disclosure continue to grow in importance, borne out by the relentless demand from multiple stakeholders for greater and deeper ESG insights.

As sustainability analysis spread across companies and departments, the launch of numerous mid-cap and small-cap ESG indices reflects that it’s no longer just the largest companies recognizing the need to better position themselves globally through sustainable business practices, but today we see more and more asset managers combine ESG and traditional financial analysis to drive their investment decisions. And, reflecting their increasingly sophisticated approach for evidence on ESG impact, investors increasingly require data point insight into KPIs related to ESG performance.”

Measurable targets
On the importance of gender policy at the corporate and state levels, Basema Almahroos, Head of Portfolio Management at APICORP pointed out that “while there have been a lot of efforts made to empower women – organizations must focus on helping to train leaders to become more inclusive and hold them accountable for it. We have an opportunity to create a culture that embraces inclusion, as it is everyone’s responsibility, and for that to happen, measurable targets and policies need to be in place.

Embracing diversity can be done by focusing on positive outcomes, for example, advocating gender balance as a way for organizations to achieve their strategic goals by unlocking the talents that women bring to the workplace. There is also the matter of government policy. We know that women’s participation rates drop significantly with age leading to a shortage of women in senior positions. I am proud to say that in recognition of this issue, Saudi Arabia is one of those countries that has increased the retirement age of women from 55 to 60 years, and I hope that other regional countries do the same.”

Gender, ethnicity and culture
Head of D&I for Bloomberg, APAC – Alisha Fernando talked about how achieving gender balance is only part of the corporate diversity agenda, saying, “The evidence is clear right now that companies are continuing to see a pipeline problem in all sectors. Firms need to build inclusive cultures that keep women in the industry and build a pipeline of women to step into leadership roles.

The same goes for people of different ethnicities or cultures. There is a very strong business case for diversity across the spectrum, including gender and ethnic and cultural diversity in corporate leadership.”

Empowering the investor
From the investors’ perspective, CEO of Lazard Asset Management in the MENA region and founder of the 30% Club MENA chapter – Farah Foustok, explained that “At Lazard, we believe that ESG needs to be integrated into every relevant strategy we offer – it’s a dynamic journey, not a destination.  As stewards of capital, we have an important role to play as impactful owners, especially when we engage with portfolio companies. As the world evolves at a fast pace, we strive to continuously innovate and collaborate.

We have been investing in global thematic strategies for decades and have a range of thematic strategies that look to invest in the growing middle classes within emerging and frontier markets. We also run Lazard Minerva Gender Diversity, an active global equity strategy with a positive gender lens. In that strategy we invest in companies with sustainably high financial productivity and a clear and demonstrable commitment to gender diversity. The strategy aims to deliver long-term capital appreciation while striving for gender balance within business and society. The initiative engages with companies with a goal of having a minimum of 30% women sit on the boards with at least 15% in executive.”

The session concluded with Raeda Al Sarayreh, Director of Corporate Communications at APICORP, discussing the EMPOWER toolkit, a significant lifecycle approach to talent management developed by the 30% Club – a global campaign led by Chairs and CEOs to increase gender diversity at board and executive committee levels. The ultimate objective of the toolkit – which has been adopted by APICORP – is for companies to commit to at least 30% female representation on their boards and executive leadership teams; the critical mass at which minority voices are heard and parity is achieved.