Deutsche Bank supports this years’ International Women’s Day

Today is International Women’s Day (IWD), but female empowerment and inclusivity are not to be left to just one month of the year—let alone one day. 

IWD marks a significant change in the way organisations approach various aspects of their commercial operations from hiring and supporting their staff to really benefiting from a workplace complete with a diverse group of minds. 

While many know IWD from recent years, the day itself was established in 1975—also dubbed ‘International Women’s Year’—marking the first time the United Nations (UN) recognised the event. 

And the attitude towards the cause has changed. Not only have more countries begun to recognise the importance of women in leadership, but have generally adopted a more inclusive approach to how they hire and develop their teams. It seems the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5—Gender Equality—is impacting the lives of many.

From the sustainability industry to technology to entertainment, female representation is a critical step to ensuring that businesses meet their corporate social responsibilities. 

Deutsche Bank’s approach to enriching female entrepreneurship

Every diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) strategy is different per organisation. While one team may decide to focus on hiring and career development for their female employees, others are making an impact by investing in the right areas to fund growth in the women’s working sector. 

In the Asia Pacific region, Deutsche Bank is partnering with the Singapore International Foundation and the Youth Venture Fund in India, which supports female entrepreneurship across the region. 

An example of how this programme has supported entrepreneurship in India can be found in Purvi Tanwani’s story. She’s the Co-Founder of Anahat for Change, which produces organic products designed for women in her country. While this allowed Tanwani to get online and build her marketplace presence, she explains “the funding has also enabled us to hire experts from the field of digital media working full time to effectively promote the brand on social media. 

“This has helped to increase the livelihood of women who are associated with the brand.”

Not only is Deutsche Bank keen to support female entrepreneurship but is also keen to drive more sustainable products into the marketplace. This adds another level of criticality to the work of the Youth Venture Fund, which is driving two aspects of industry compliance to environmental, social and governance (ESG).