Serena Hotels join hands with International Finance Corporation to further women employment

Famed hospitality company Serena Hotels is all set to become the first company in Pakistan to collaborate with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and work for the worldwide Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE) certificate, in line with its commitments and actions to support women’s participation in the private sector.

Serena Hotels reaffirms its commitment to gender equality by providing the opportunity to women to work, including in leadership that which will further drive economic growth in the country. To promote women’s private sector work-force participation in Pakistan, Serena Hotels promote women as employees demonstrating commitment towards workplace gender equality.

“As a leading hotel chain, Serena Hotels makes every effort to encourage women for their professional development for assuming higher positions including the leadership role,” said Aziz Boolani, Serena Hotels’ Chief Executive Officer. 

“At Serena Hotels, our women make up 12% of overall workforce despite many social and cultural changes. Applying for EDGE gender certification is a next step for us towards identifying how we can further improve and position ourselves as a ‘Women’s ‘Employer of Choice’.

“There’s no doubt that companies can deliver greater business impact and be more competitive by fostering an equitable and inclusive workplace for women and men,” said Nadeem Siddiqui, IFC’s Senior Country Manager in Pakistan. “We hope more companies in Pakistan will discover the strength of the business case for greater gender equality in the workplace.”

Serena Hotels as a responsible corporate body continuously work towards empowering women through various initiatives, including capacity building and employment of high potential women. Among others, Serena Hotels’ “Karighar” a Corporate Social Responsibility program has been making a significant contribution to provide entrepreneurship training to various segment of women for a sustainable growth and quality of life.

EDGE is the leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender equality. Launched at the World Economic Forum, EDGE Certification was designed to help companies not only create an optimal workplace for women and men, but also benefit from it. EDGE Certification has received the endorsement of business, government, and academic leaders from around the world. For more information, visit http://www.edge-cert.org