'Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls'

Henning Schlutt with Hind Al-Sabeeh and Dr Lubna Al-Kazi

KUWAIT: Alghanim Industries, one of the largest privately owned companies in the region, recently restated its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5, to "achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls," as the CEO of Alghanim Industries Omar K Alghanim signed a Statement of Support for the UN Women's Empowerment Principles. The symbolic signing ceremony took place in the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce last week under the patronage of Her Excellency Ms Hind Al Sabeeh, Kuwait's Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Economic Affairs.

The event was organized by the Women's Research and Studies Center of Kuwait University's College of Social Sciences led by Dr Lubna Al-Kazi, in partnership with the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). Alghanim Industries participated alongside a number of leading private sector entities, and was represented by the company's Chief Human Resources Officer, Henning Schlutt.

Shedding light on Kuwait's private sector efforts in promoting and accelerating gender equality in the corporate world, the event further solidified Kuwait's commitment to the global 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Commenting on the initiative, Chief Human Resources Officer, Henning Schlutt, said: "At Alghanim Industries, we strongly believe in the principles of diversity and inclusion. Over the past few years, we have launched a number of initiatives and introduced a number of policies to support women leading their careers. Our participation in this initiative stems from our steadfast commitment to gender equality, and to the success of women in the corporate world."

Alghanim Industries has actively prioritized gender diversity at the company. On March of this year, on International Women's Day, the company launched a nationwide video campaign aimed at inspiring women in the private sector. Alghanim was one of the pioneers in introducing improved maternity and paternity leave policies, which includes extending the paid maternity leave for up to 90 days, as well as paid paternity leave for up to 12 days. It remains committed to empowering women in the community, and continues developing a supportive, enabling environment for its female talent.