BIBF hosts “The Power of You” Seminar

The Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance (BIBF), the region’s premier training and development provider, hosted a leadership seminar entitled “The Power of You” to ignite and leverage the power of women leaders, in celebration of Bahraini Women’s Day 2019, which this year recognises the importance of women in higher education and the opportunities for participation in the field of future sciences.

The session connected professional women to distinguished Bahraini speakers and community leaders around some of the most important issues facing women leaders today, in addition to highlighting the importance of training and development to unlock women’s potential and support their career development.

The first Keynote Speaker, Ms. Samar Muradi, Manager of Group Human Resources at Bank ABC, stressed on the power of reinvention and leadership to help guide women maximise their strengths in ways that will add value to their businesses and organisations.

The second Keynote Speaker, Ms. Hend Alawadhi, Aeronautical Engineer & Senior Airworthiness Inspector at Bahrain Civil Aviation, shared her own experiences – as one of Bahrain’s first female Aircraft Engineers – on how women can stand out from the crowd and get their voice heard to succeed in today’s competitive corporate space.

The seminar also included an interactive workshop and team-building game, delivered by BIBF’s Centre for Leadership & Management on creative problem-solving techniques and the power of perspective-taking as a key leadership skill to overcome challenges.

On this occasion, The BIBF Director, Dr. Ahmed Al Shaikh stated, “The BIBF has always believed in the potential of women in education and has constantly experienced the high standards of education and training provided by its female staff, accounting for 55% of the overall academic staff most of whom are market practioners with a talent to train.”

Dr. Al Shaikh also stressed the importance of this year’s theme, which supports the Institute’s strategic direction of leading excellence in the fields of higher education and future sciences.

He underlined Bahraini women’s strides and landmark participation and competitiveness in the field of scientific research, academic work and financial technology, which reflects their honourable standing and contributes to enhancing their pioneering edge.

“We will continue providing educational opportunities that will ensure women’s participation in all levels of management across all organisation types – even at a board level – to thrive and reach their full potential,” he added.

Over the past year, the BIBF has held several workshops and masterclasses that especially cater to women’s career advancement in the workplace, providing insights by experts on various topics pertaining to leadership development and women’s career development. Going forward, the BIBF’s strategy also focuses on several women-centered initiatives that place skills advancement as its top priority.