Fatima Asad-Said (F)
CEO
ABACUS is a leading professional services firm based out of Pakistan, providing Information Technology, Outsourcing and Management Consulting services to a wide range of clientele in Pakistan, and through its network of member firms and strategic partners globally. The Company was established in 1987, incorporated as a private limited company on May 18, 1987 and converted into a public limited company on June 14, 2022. Endorsing the UN’s 7 Women’s Empowerment Principles for implementation at ABACUS is perhaps one of the most important yet the easiest commitments I can make as they represent a natural continuation of the philosophy and values being currently followed at ABACUS. I strongly believe that organizations (and nations) that ignore half of their human capital and the diverse value they bring to the table, are on the road to assured failure. Therefore, the importance of women - who form nearly half of our formal and informal workforce - cannot be overlooked. I recognize that providing equal opportunities to men and women at work is not enough because both of them have a very different career journey – especially in a country like Pakistan. In the interest of Equity for all our people, we need to provide an inclusive, enabling and facilitative environment for Everyone, which has meant implementing the ABACUS Work Anywhere Policy, flexible work timings, equal pay policy, specific training workshops according to training needs, a generous medical coverage, life insurance, maternity and paternity leaves, leadership coaching and mentoring etc. These and other workplace and HR policies including zero tolerance for harassment are enabling our women staff members to build their leadership capability and professional exposure at par with their male counterparts where they can compete on equal footing and on merit. ABACUS has always been an equal-opportunity employer – even back in 1987 when we started our operations in Pakistan. I’m confident that our relentless journey towards empowering women and achieving equity among all our people at ABACUS shall bear fruit. I’m happy to say that these efforts are recognized by our employees which is evident from their feedback, comments and suggestions. It has also won us awards and accolades externally including the prestigious GDEIB* Awards in various categories including ‘Vision, Strategy & Business Impact’, ‘Leadership & Accountability’, ‘Work-Life Integration, Flexibility & Benefits’, ‘DEI Learning & Development’ and ‘Recruitment’. As mentioned above, we are already on route to implementing the UN’s WEPs at ABACUS, and becoming a formal signatory shall reinforce our determination to achieve our shared objectives.