Standard Chartered Bank’s Valuable 500 Commitment:
Standard Chartered is a leading international banking group, with a presence in 59 of the world’s most dynamic markets and serving clients in a further 85. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity. We are focused on building a culture of inclusion and are committed to be a disability confident organisation with a focus on removing barriers and increasing accessibility.
We have implemented several initiatives to be disability confident and are committed to:
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Build networks, upskill and provide support: Our disability Employee Resource Groups provide a collective voice for action in country, share ideas on how to improve disability inclusion and collaborate across our footprint. Together with the support of our Country Diversity and Inclusion Councils, we globally recognise International Day of Persons with Disabilities delivering local activations, ranging from sign language classes, careers fairs targeted at candidates with disability and mentoring in the community.
We want to be a workplace that is welcoming and accommodating of people with disabilities. This includes providing flexible working options, making reasonable workplace adjustments and ensuring recruitment, on-boarding processes and development opportunities are fully accessible to all. We know that education is important to help breakdown myths and stereotypes and support a culture of inclusion, which is why we have also released toolkits and learning webinars to increase awareness on related topics, such as mental wellbeing and building a disability confident workplace.
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Continuous improvement: Our overall approach is underpinned by our Group Diversity and Inclusion Standard, which outlines our commitment to equal opportunity, dignity and respect, measurable objectives and roles and responsibilities. We recognise that our footprint is in different stages of their diversity and inclusion journey due to varying cultural, legal and historical contexts. To demonstrate collective progress, we have asked every market to complete an internal Disability Confident Assessment and use the results to address key areas for improvement. This includes a holistic and tailored solution to meet the requirements of the local environment with a focus on awareness and commitment, accessible recruitment and workspaces, assistive technology and accessibility and engagement with our communities and supply chain.
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Focus on clients and communities: Inclusive products and services lead to better outcomes for all clients, including people with disabilities. We launched our Inclusive Design Standard in 2016 to support safe and inclusive access to our buildings and facilities, which is applied to all new premises, renovations and refurbishments. Our accessible banking services are available across our footprint to meet the needs of our diverse client base.
Futuremakers by Standard Chartered is our global initiative to tackle inequality and promote greater economic inclusion in our markets. We provide young people from low-income households, such as people with visual impairments, with opportunities to take part in community programmes focused on education, employability and entrepreneurship.
We have partnered with the International Labour Organisation – Global Business Disability Network and signed their charter to ensure we can share best practice and learn from others in support of being disability confident and embodying our heritage and values expressed in our brand promise, Here for good.
