By Abiola Olawale
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has taken a bold step toward fostering gender inclusion in the financial sector, announcing that 58% of its latest graduate intake consists of female professionals.
The financial institution declared that the development reflects the bank’s ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, and empowerment of women in the workplace.
This is as the bank graduated its latest cohort of 1,138 Graduate Management Accelerated Programme (GMAP) trainees, out of which 666, representing an impressive 58% were women.
The new graduate trainees, who were onboarded following a rigorous selection process, are set to join various departments across the bank’s operations in Nigeria and its international subsidiaries.
Speaking at the induction ceremony held at the bank’s headquarters in Lagos, UBA’s Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba, emphasized the importance of creating opportunities for women in the corporate world.
“At UBA, we believe that diversity drives innovation and excellence. By ensuring that more than half of our new graduate trainees are women, we are not only building a more inclusive workforce but also investing in the future of Africa’s financial sector,” he said.
UBA’s Group Head, Human Resources, Modupe Akindele, in her address, also explained that the bank is passionate about helping its staff grow, regardless of their gender.
The New Diplomat reports that the United Bank for Africa is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with 25,000 employees group-wide and serving over 45 million customers globally. Operating in twenty African countries and the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting-edge technology.
