At Standard Chartered Bank, Souad has focused her activities in several areas to reach maximum impact. Since Souad joined SCB in 2017, 80% of graduates hired into Financial Markets (FM) UAE have been female. She has pushed for the promotion of existing female talent, running confidential 1:1 career sessions for all front office female staff in FM MENA, leading to 54% of FM MENA front office promotions being female. She gave a presentation at the launch of the SCB ‘GOAL’ programme in Dubai to inspire young girls to positively shape their own futures. Souad is a member of the MENAP D&I Council, influencing SCB MENA’s hiring procedure by suggesting more diverse slates for senior roles, which has also been implemented by the global FM D&I Working Group. Souad has ensured exit interviews are carried out with all outgoing senior front office women, and has implemented a reverse mentoring programme with senior male colleagues, among many other internal initiatives. Externally, Souad spoke at the Dubai Bloomberg D&I lunch in April and was interviewed on the power of diversity by the Arabian Business Magazine. She was also selected as one of the 50 most influential women in ME Finance by FN London.