- Al Hada Visa Application Centre in Riyadh launches a unique initiative as a display of solidarity, equality and inclusion.
To commemorate women for their resilience and achievements and their incredible contribution in building a sustainable world, VFS Global operations at the Al Hada Visa Application Centre in Riyadh was managed by all-female staff on the International Women’s Day.
As part of the unique initiative, a women-only team handled visa applications for 28 countries including, Canada, the United Kingdom and countries falling under the Schengen zone. In addition, female team members took control of security, operated control rooms as well as transported passports to respective embassies/missions.
Sumanth Kapoor, Business Head – KSA & Bahrain, VFS Global said: “VFS Global is proud to support International Women’s Day. We are having an all-female work day at Al Hada centre to honor the social, economic and cultural achievements of women in Saudi Arabia and across the world. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality, so we are committing to empowering our teams with actionable steps for personal, professional and organizational success in the Kingdom and beyond.”
In line with Saudi vision for women empowerment, VFS Global has enhanced its Inclusion and Diversity framework. Its efforts have culminated in 40% of its existing workforce in Saudi Arabia being female, 90% of which are Saudi nationals. Other female staff members belong to the Philippines, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Palestine and Yemen. Worldwide, VFS Global has a ratio of 58% women across all its operations in more than 140 countries.
About VFS Global
VFS Global is the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide. With 3490 Application Centres, operations in 143 countries across five continents and over 227 million applications processed (since inception in 2001) as on 31 January 2021, VFS Global is the trusted partner of 64 client governments. The company manages non-judgmental and administrative tasks related to applications for visa, passport and consular services for its client governments, enabling them to focus entirely on the critical task of assessment.
VFS Global is majority owned by the global investment organisation EQT. The Swiss-based Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation holds a minority stake in VFS Global. EQT is a global investment organisation with offices in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific and with a 25-year track-record of consistent investment performance across multiple geographies, sectors, and strategies. EQT AB Group is listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange. EQT manages and advises a range of specialized investment funds and other investment vehicles that invest across the world with the mission to generate attractive returns and future-proof companies. EQT funds’ investors do not influence portfolio companies’ decision making or strategies. Nor do they have access to private and confidential business assets or client and customer data.