- Focus on gender diversity and inclusion to develop opportunities for women
- 25% of touch’s female employees hold leadership positions
Beirut – February 25, 2019: touch, the leading mobile telecommunications and data operator in Lebanon, managed by Zain Group, took part in the WE program workshop hosted by Zain Group in Lebanon for the first time in February at the Four Seasons Hotel. More than 90 female attendees were present, having come from Zain operations in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, South Sudan, and strategic partner Omantel to participate in this important initiative.
Zain Group Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Bader Al-Kharafi introduced the WE Program in 2017 that focused on Women Empowerment, given that women accounted for approximately 25% of Zain staff. The program objective has been further developed to promote gender diversity and inclusion, and improve and develop opportunities for women at Zain to experience and grow within their career path and goals.
Touch, in line with Zain Group strategy, has made Gender Diversity and Inclusion at the workplace a priority, and is working on a gender diversity mindset based on four pillars: HR Policy Transformation; Leadership Development; Culture Transformation; and female recruitment. With these goals in mind, a group of Women Ambassadors has been formed to drive the change. Nine females at touch have been selected to become WE Ambassadors. touch ambassadors receive the chance to discuss Zain’s vision for promoting women equality in the workforce, as well as planning diversity and sustainable change in the business.
touch Chief Executive Officer, Emre Gurkan commented, “This is an important initiative as it inspires employees and entices them to act and motivate their colleagues. touch is on a promising path towards diversity and inclusion where the total number of female employees currently stands at approximately 38% of all staff – among which 25% hold leadership positions. Close collaboration and diversity in leadership at the workplace enables us to deliver innovative solutions, drive positive results, and strengthen our organization.”
The workshop included a Leadership Wheel Assessment to help participants shape their individual development plans, personal strengths and weaknesses, aspirations and self-reflection. Participants then reviewed the 2019 action plans while focusing on embedding the program and initiatives within the organization, supporting women to reach the next level of leadership in their career tracks, and preparing a talent pool of females.
Finally, the workshop focused on skill building by helping female ambassadors understand and further develop their leadership style.
In one year, the WE program has achieved numerous accomplishments where female leadership at Zain Group has risen from 14.5% to 15.5% in one year; female recruitment at Zain across all operations has grown from 21% to 29%; and a total of 90 WE Ambassadors have been tasked with action planning.
In 2019, touch’s goal is to support gender diversity in the workplace as this is the key to establishing a competitive advantage that will enable the company to fast-track goals, unlock tremendous growth opportunities, and improve and grow within the sector.
About touch
touch is the leading mobile operator in Lebanon, managed by Zain Group, the pioneering mobile and data services operator in the Middle East and Africa. In the last thirteen years of operations under Zain’s management, touch has had many success stories, providing cutting-edge services and technology to its consumers.
Drawing from Zain’s regional expertise providing telecommunication and mobile data services to 49 million users, touch has devised and adopted a consumer-centric strategy. touch’s range of services and its 3.9G and 4.5G coverage of all Lebanese territories has allowed it to gain a 54% wireless telecommunication market share in Lebanon. touch employs specialized and competent Lebanese personnel that aims to provide the latest in telecommunication services and products to the local community to help it grow in a more sustainable way.
touch, with the backing of Zain and its cooperation with the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications, dedicates all its resources to keeping up with the latest in telecom and mobile data. It offers a 24/7 call center service to cater to the need of its customers for uninterrupted connection.
touch values the local community, perceiving it as a major partner; its mission and vision reflect a dedication to humanitarian, social, and cultural causes, as well as creativity and innovation, which it considers integral to advancing its social responsibility program.
For more, please visit www.touch.com.lb; www.facebook.com/touchlebanon; www.twitter.com/touchlebanon www.instagram.com/touchlebanon; www.youtube.com/touchlebanon; www.linkedin.com/company/touch-lebanon