Dr. Saeeda Jaffar, senior vice president and group country manager for Visa in the GCC, speaks to Economy Middle East about the company’s far-reaching initiatives on gender parity and providing ample opportunities for women to thrive as business leaders and entrepreneurs.
Few women can be found in leadership roles in the finance industry. Is the sector not attractive enough? Or are there too many hurdles for women to navigate their way to the top?
In the GCC region, gender parity is increasingly valued, and governments are setting ambitious targets to close the gender gap. This is providing women opportunities to play active roles in the private and public sectors. GCC countries have also pledged their commitment to gender equity best practices such as the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles, while prioritizing hiring and career growth of women.
This visible shift, coupled with recognition of women’s growing role in commerce and the larger economy has increased women’s representation in business leadership.
Read more: Visa spearheads Egypt’s digital transformation toward a cashless society
How does Visa foster an inclusive culture that encourages women to pursue and thrive in leadership roles, particularly in traditionally male-dominated industries like finance and technology?
Visa believes in creating economies that include everyone, everywhere, uplifting everyone in the process. It is reflected in our commitment to advancing gender diversity and economic empowerment for women in the MENA region.
At Visa, we’re not just talking about change, we’re enacting it. We’re tackling the tough issues head-on, like the gender and ethnicity pay gap. We believe in equality, and it shows – women earn $1 for every $1 earned by men for the same work, globally.
Externally, we’re investing in the future of women’s entrepreneurship. Since 2020, we’ve invested over $3 million in more than 250 grants for women-owned businesses across 30+ markets. Through our “She’s Next” global advocacy program, we’re empowering women with the training, mentoring and funding they need to lead and succeed. The proof is in the numbers – in 2023, we received over 880 applications from the GCC region alone. This is the change we’re driving, and we’re just getting started.
More recently, we have partnered with Emirati cyclist Safiya Al Sayegh, underscoring our efforts to empower women athletes and shift the paradigm of brand sponsorship and programming of women’s sports. These are just a few examples of how we are using our voice and platform to highlight the contributions and economic potential of women.
What are your thoughts on the importance of diversity and inclusion in leadership teams?
At Visa, we continue to invest in initiatives aimed at increasing inclusiveness such as the Visa Women’s Network, which facilitates the professional growth of female employees by offering networking and career development opportunities.
Visa was one of the few companies to be recognized with a Parent-Friendly Label by UAE President HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for being an organization that fosters a work culture that supports parents. Parent-friendly workplaces offer flexibility for working parents, understand the needs of families, welcome back new mothers and fathers actively, and go above and beyond the UAE Labor Law requirements for maternity leave, paternity leave and other policies.
Visa recently announced an alliance with Dubai Police to combat economic crimes. Moreover, what role can Visa and other digital payment companies play in stemming this menace?
Visa is delighted to be a founding member of Dubai Police’s Operations Center for Economic Crimes. Visa is not only assisting in setting up the center’s structure and processes but also actively participating in investigations. We are sharing valuable threat intelligence, thus playing a proactive role in combating economic crimes, and creating a safer payments and financial ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, communities and businesses.
The problem the center is addressing is the evolving sophistication and new approaches scammers are using to trick unsuspecting consumers in today’s digital-first world. Our recent “Stay Secure” study found that while 61 percent of consumers in the UAE claim to be scam-savvy, 90 percent of them are likely to miss fraud warnings. Moreover, 77 percent of consumers are likely to respond to positive messages from fraudsters. The OCEC is an important step in solving this problem – and we are of course proud to be a part of it – and provides a model for other companies and governments to follow in securing not just the payments sector but national economies.
Payments companies and banks repeatedly send out a communication to warn customers about online fraud. Yet, a recent Visa study revealed that 90 percent of consumers in the UAE are at risk of responding to scammers. What should be done to improve consumer safety?
We have invested over $10 billion globally over the past five years in technology, including reducing fraud and enhancing network security. This has included $500 million on artificial intelligence and data infrastructure, enabling us to power 100 different capabilities that use AI to protect our clients and customers. In fact, over 2022 alone, Visa proactively prevented $27.1 billion in potential fraud.
Solutions like tokenization and Visa Secure protect customer data, alongside fraud detection and prevention methods to reduce risk, while Visa Advanced Authorization and Visa Consumer Authentication Service deliver the intelligence to reduce fraud and false declines while limiting friction for a better cardholder experience.
To improve consumer safety, it is essential to continue raising awareness and educating consumers through targeted initiatives like Stay Secure with Dubai Police in the UAE, collaborative campaigns with local governments, and more.
About Saeeda Jaffar
Dr. Saeeda Jaffar is the senior vice president and group country manager for the GCC region at Visa. Prior to joining Visa, Dr. Jaffar held the position of managing director at Alvarez & Marsal ME, a renowned firm specializing in turnaround and restructuring. She has also held leadership roles at McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company, where she worked with clients in the U.S., Europe, and the GCC region.
Throughout her 20-year career, Dr. Jaffar has worked extensively on strategic, M&A, and performance-related matters across various industries. Her expertise lies in the financial services sector, working with universal banks, private banks, investment banks, private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, government institutions, and family-owned businesses.
Dr. Jaffar, an Emirati national, graduated as valedictorian from Boston University with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering. She further pursued her education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), earning both a master’s degree and a doctorate in chemical engineering.
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