In celebration of International Women’s Day, Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa has announced that it has achieved its gender diversity and inclusion targets for the Middle East, with 40% of the total workforce in 2020 being made up of women, and 25% of leadership positions in the business being held by women.
According to a report by GSMA, 70% of telecoms companies globally have proportionately fewer women in their workforce than are available in the labour pool, and in over half (55%) of telecoms companies in the Middle East, women only make up between 10-26 percent of the workforce.
In Saudi Arabia, 41 percent of the total workforce at Virgin Mobile KSA are women, far above the average 21 percent of women working in the Kingdom. “We have accomplished a great deal already, but we certainly have more work to do. We are committed to providing opportunity for all, not only as an obligation under the law, but because we know that providing a diverse pool of qualified candidates will help us deliver the best results for our customers and shareholders,” said Virgin Mobile KSA CEO, Yaarob Al Sayegh.
Al Sayegh continued, “Today, Virgin Mobile KSA is a company that represents the market in which we operate. We are drawing from Saudi talent pools across the gender divide and this diversity is bringing fresh perspectives and new business skills to the organisation. We are proud to be a leader in this area and we hope that other organisations find inspiration in the path we have set.”