2019 Sustainable Business Report

SAFARICOM SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2019 INTRODUCTION OUR BUSINESS OUR MATERIAL TOPICS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT CONCLUDING REMARKS 66 INSPIRING WOMEN TO SHAPE THE FUTURE IN TECHNOLOGY A study conducted by the World Bank Group reports that global wealth would increase by US$23 620 per person, on average, in the 141 countries studied – for a total of US$160 trillion, if women earned the same over their lifetimes as men. 11 A clear link exists between empowering women and reducing economic inequality for all. Our commitment to gender diversity in the sphere of technology remains a key area of focus. Our outreach programmes in schools and on campuses encourage girls to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses. We achieved a presence in 50 high schools in the past year, reaching approximately 2,000 girls, and organised career talks at universities and colleges. Our Safaricom Women in Technology (WIT) programme is an initiative dedicated to inspiring women to advance their STEM careers through internships, mentorship culture and coaching programmes. In FY19, the proportion of women in our technology division is 22 per cent and we are targeting to hit 25 per cent by the end of FY20. SAFARICOM WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY HIGHLIGHTS “Gender, poverty and (economic) inequality are intrinsically linked… in countries where many women have an income of their own, relative poverty rates are lower.” 10 – 2018 UN Women discussion paper 10 Nieuwenhuis, R., Munzi, T., Neugschwender, J., Omar, H. and Palmisano, F. (2018), “Gender equality and poverty are intrinsically linked: a contribution to the continued monitoring of selected sustainable development goals”, UN Women, available at www. unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/ publications/2018/discussion-paper-gender-equality-and-poverty- are-intrinsically-linked-en.pdf?la=en&vs=4100 (accessed 20 June 2019) 11 Georgieva, K. and Bibieu, M. (2018), “This is the global price of gender inequality”, World Economic Forum, available at www. weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/the-high-price-of-gender-inequality (accessed 22 June 2019) Technology Division Female Count Total Female YTD New Hire Number of Females in Technology Division 123 164 169 180 FY16 FY18 FY17 FY19 0 50 150 175 125 75 25 200 100 Financial Year