TORONTO, Jan. 28, 2021 /CNW/ - Scotiabank has once again been included in the 2021 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), a reference index which recognizes companies committed to transparency in gender reporting and gender equality in the workforce. This is the fourth year in a row that the Bank has been included in the index, which has recently expanded to include 380 companies across 11 sectors.

"Inclusion is central to our values at Scotiabank because we know that it only makes our winning team stronger," said Barb Mason, Scotiabank's Group Head and Chief Human Resources Officer. "We're proud to once again be recognized for our commitment to gender equality along with our peers, and we recognize how important gender equality is to our financial performance as a global financial institution."

Using a standardized reporting framework, the GEI tracks the financial performance of public companies committed to supporting gender equality through policy development, representation, and transparency, and measures gender equality across five pillars: female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, sexual harassment policies, and pro-women brand.

Scotiabank's commitment to prioritize equality and the inclusion of women include:

• Building an inclusive workforce where 40 per cent of Vice Presidents and above in Canada, and 36 per cent of Vice Presidents and above globally, are women. In 2020, 44 per cent of executive appointments went to women and Scotiabank announced its intent to increase the representation of women in VP and above roles to 40 per cent globally.
  
  
• With last year's appointment of Lynn Patterson to Scotiabank's Board of Directors, six out of fourteen members (43 per cent) of Scotiabank's Board of Directors are women.
  
  
• Similarly, in 2020, with the appointments of Anique Asher to Executive Vice President, Finance & Strategy and Nicole Frew to Executive Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer, nine out of 30 (30 per cent) of the Bank's executive officers (Executive Vice Presidents and Group Heads) are women.
  
  
• The Scotiabank Women Initiative™ - a comprehensive program that supports women-owned, women-led businesses in Canada through Access to Capital, Mentorship and Education – celebrated its second anniversary with the launch of a Digital Hub and expansion of program into Scotia Wealth Management.
  
  
• Scotiabank was an active contributor in the Gender Equality Leadership in the Canadian Private Sector initiative – a 3-year research project led by Global Compact Network of Canada and Women and Gender Equality Canada. The tools resulting from this project can help guide Canadian organizations looking to advance gender equality.
  
• Scotiabank's Chief Compliance Officer, Nicole Frew, was awarded an inaugural Report on Business Best Executive Award – a new distinction celebrating excellence among non-CEO leaders, for more than 15 years of exceptional leadership across multiple business lines at Scotiabank.
  
  
• Gillian Riley, President and CEO, Tangerine Bank, was named a 2020 Catalyst Honours Champion for her efforts at both Tangerine and Scotiabank, including founding The Scotiabank Women Initiative™.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future", we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of over 90,000 employees and assets of approximately $1.1 trillion (as at October 31, 2020), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit http://www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

SOURCE The Bank of Nova Scotia