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| The Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index logo |
KB Financial Group made the list of this year's Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for the fourth consecutive year since 2019. Bloomberg announced earlier this week a total of 418 companies from 45 countries that were included in the 2022 Bloomberg GEI. The GEI framework scores companies across five main criteria for gender equality: female leadership, gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies and pro-women brand identity.
KB Financial has been leading the effort to raise gender-parity awareness, as the country's very first financial group that has appointed two female outside directors out of the total seven outside director positions.
As an official institution supporting UN-backed Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs), the financial group's affiliate companies have been operating a number of gender-equality programs, such as the Women's Empowerment STAR mentoring system, the KB Woman of Excellence program and more.
With its inclusion in the index this year, KB Financial once again solidified its strength in the breadth and depth of its environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies. The financial giant has been evaluated highly according to various globally-recognized, ESG-related standards for years, ranging from its sixth consecutive year of inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), to having reached the top levels in both the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and the Morgan Stanley Capital International Index (MSCI) ESG criteria, as well as its WEPs.
"The inclusion in the Bloomberg GEI for four consecutive years proves that the strength of the KB Financial Group's endeavors for achieving ESG management put priority on diversity and inclusion," an official from the financial group said, vowing to continue the efforts towards improving gender equality practices.
Along with KB Financial Group, Hana Financial Group also made the list of the Bloomberg GEI this year. In the spotlight were the financial group's diverse employee welfare systems, represented by the variety of types of leave available for female staff members. The financial group allows leave for various family-oriented reasons, including birth, subfertility, prenatal diagnosis and family care.
Hana Financial Group has also been focusing on nurturing talented women for the next generation under the banner of "Hana Waves." The leadership nurturing program has successfully trained 34 female employees. "W-Leaders Program" is another corporate program aiming to improve gender equality and equity within the group.
In line with such programs, the financial group newly appointed a total of five female executives this year.
"With the inclusion of the group in the Bloomberg GEI this year, Hana Financial Group has ameliorated its ESG-principled investment environment, as well as strengthening corporate competitiveness by proactively including talented women," an official from the financial group said.
Shinhan Financial Group is also marking its fourth year of inclusion in the Bloomberg GEI this year. The financial group has also run various welfare systems and promotional programs for talented women to raise awareness of the importance of gender equality within the group.
"Shinhan's inclusion in the Bloomberg GEI framework for four consecutive years is a result of the financial group's proactive efforts to improve career development opportunities for women," the group's official said. "The group will continue to fulfill its social responsibility to the utmost through assuming various ESG-principled initiatives, while maintaining its focus on gender equality goals," the official added.
