On the shortlist: Navroop Birha

As Deputy Head of People at Al Rayan Bank, Navroop Birha has been at the forefront of driving a more inclusive culture through policy, leadership, and lived experience. Over the past five years, she has led a transformative people strategy — enhancing Family Friendly and Flexible Working Policies to better support parents and embed flexibility across the organisation.

As Chair of the Women’s Network Group, Navroop has built an intersectional platform for dialogue and development, now engaging more than 60 women across the Bank. Under her leadership, initiatives such as the Women in Leadership Programme have empowered colleagues to build skills, confidence, and progression opportunities.

Inclusive by design and data-driven in delivery, Navroop’s work ensures that every policy reflects the diverse experiences of women across ethnicity, faith, age, neurodiversity, and caregiving – embedding equity into the heart of Al Rayan Bank’s culture.

You’ve led significant updates to AlRayan Bank’s Family Friendly and Flexible Working Policies. What impact have you seen from these changes, particularly for women returning to work?

The positive changes that have been made to these policies have positioned our Bank as a leader in the sector, offering one of the most competitive maternity packages in the industry.

The changes made to the maternity leave policy have significantly reduced financial pressure for mothers during their leave, allowing them to focus on their families without any added stress. The policy has allowed mothers to spend more quality time with their children, while also helping to ease the burden of childcare costs, without compromising their financial wellbeing.

It has also been great to see that every colleague who has taken maternity leave has chosen to return to the Bank once their leave has ended. I truly feel that this reflects the strength of our supportive culture.

Our enhanced changes have also meant that our colleagues can return back to work following their leave with flexible working provisions in place to ease them back into work, to allow them to still have time with their children and again eliminating any additional financial worries. Quite often for women, it feels that they have to make a choice to either have a career or to be a parent. Here at the Bank, we have made it possible for our female colleagues to have both. That in itself is a huge achievement and success.

Looking ahead, I will also be reviewing our paternity leave provisions, not only to ensure that our male colleagues are equally considered in family leave policies but to also enable fathers to spend more meaningful time with their children.

Under your leadership, the Women’s Network Group has grown. What do you think has been key to its success, and how has it supported women’s career progression?

Through the launch of the Women’s Network Group, I feel the key to its success has been the culture of openness and transparency which has been offered to our female colleagues through the group. This has empowered them to speak freely and share their experiences. With two office locations it is not always easy to allow cross-collaboration and networking amongst our female colleagues, and this has therefore opened up a pathway for this to happen.

It has created a safe and inclusive space for women to feel heard, valued, recognised and allowing them to connect, exchange ideas, and support one another professionally and personally.

I have also organised insightful sessions on topics such as;

• The impact of hormones on daily life and work
• Helping women better understand their bodies and how to manage their wellbeing in the workplace.
• Empowering women to take back control
• Achieving work life balance

These sessions have all been hosted by professional coaches and our female colleagues have been able to attend these during their working day. Again, highlighting that these topics and supporting our female colleagues is important to us at the Bank.

The network has also allowed our colleagues to interact with our female non-executive directors. This allowed our colleagues to gain valuable insights into their career journeys whilst receiving valuable guidance for professional growth from our senior female leaders.

We have created a network where we have created psychological safety, and whereby our colleagues feel they have one another to turn to, or to discuss important topics with.

I’ve also continued to focus on including our male colleagues in WIBF events and sessions designed for our female colleagues, as this not only helps build awareness of the challenges women may face whether as their line managers or peers but it also offers valuable insights they can apply in their personal lives too.

The Women in Leadership Programme has already helped women at the Bank gain qualifications and confidence. What has been the most rewarding outcome of this initiative for you personally?

The Women in Leadership programme has been a rewarding experience for me as this was the first leadership programme solely for our female colleagues. The programme was also supported and approved by our Executive team which made me extremely proud to work for a company that supports the growth and development of its female colleagues.

For me personally the initiative allowed me to ascertain what my leadership style is, identify my own personal brand but also work alongside like-minded female colleagues. Listening to their career journeys and their experiences I was able to further develop myself. It challenged me to think critically about bias and how to embed gender equity into workplace culture, not just through policy, but through everyday behaviours.

I left with a clear development plan and a growth mindset. I also had the opportunity to pursue a Level 7 qualification. I am currently progressing with this, initially it was challenging as it had been over 14 years since my academic studies, working full time whilst also being a mum to two young boys made it feel quite daunting to pursue the qualification. However, I have pushed through and I am really proud of the progress I have been able to make to date.

Intersectionality is central to your approach. How do you ensure that ethnicity, faith, age, neurodiversity, and caregiving experiences are meaningfully reflected in your DEI work?

To me, intersectionality means recognising that every colleague’s experience in the workplace is shaped by the unique combination of their identities. That’s why I’m passionate about creating an environment where everyone feels safe, seen, and empowered to bring their whole selves to work.

I’ve been able to embed this approach through my work on the Bank’s staff engagement survey. The anonymous DE&I data collected helps me understand the diverse makeup of our workforce, and I follow this up with colleague focus groups to provide a platform for open dialogue, celebrating what’s working well and identifying areas for improvement.

As Chair of the Bank’s Wellbeing Group, I continue to champion inclusive practices, ensuring that wellbeing initiatives reflect the varied needs of our people. Additionally, all Bank policies are reviewed and updated through an intersectional lens to ensure they are equitable and inclusive.

We’ve also delivered impactful training sessions such as ‘Creating a Culture of Emotional Inclusivity’ and the ‘DE&I Masterclass’, helping colleagues build awareness and confidence around inclusion.

Intersectionality is not a one-off initiative, it’s a continuous and evolving commitment. It’s an area of focus I strive to embed in every aspect of my work.

Your partnership with WIBF has opened up mentoring and development opportunities for over 60 women. What difference do you think external collaborations bring compared to internal programmes?

Internal programmes play a vital role in embedding DE&I into the Bank’s culture and processes. However, external collaboration adds a powerful dimension by giving colleagues the opportunity to connect with individuals across the wider industry. This brings fresh perspectives, diverse experiences, and valuable insights that can challenge and expand their thinking.

These interactions not only enhance professional development but also open up rare and meaningful networking opportunities. Platforms like WIBF provide access to these spaces, helping colleagues build confidence and broaden their understanding of different organisational cultures and leadership styles.

Engaging with external environment also creates space for honest reflection, personal growth, and deeper learning. Together, internal and external initiatives strengthen our commitment to inclusion, helping us build a workplace where everyone can thrive.

Looking ahead, what are your priorities for further strengthening DEI and women’s progression at AlRayan Bank, and how will you measure success?

Looking ahead, my priorities for further strengthening DE&I and women’s progression at AlRayan Bank will focus on the following;

1. Strengthening the Bank’s Internal Women’s Network Group – I will look to continue to grow and evolve our internal Women’s Network Group, ensuring it remains a safe, empowering space for our women to connect, share experiences, and access development opportunities. This includes increasing visibility of the network, aligning its activities with our broader DE&I goals, and inviting senior leaders to actively engage.
2. Expanding External Networking Opportunities – I will also look to continue providing more opportunities for our female colleagues to join Women in Banking & Finance, enabling them to build external networks, gain industry insights, and access mentoring and leadership programmes beyond the Bank. This will help broaden perspectives and support career progression.
3. Embedding DE&I into Recruitment and Career Progression –  I will continue to embed DE&I principles into our recruitment processes, ensuring inclusive job design, diverse shortlists, and equitable selection practices. We’ll also review internal promotion pathways to ensure women have fair access to career development and leadership roles.
4. Listening and Acting on Feedback – We’ll actively listen to our female colleagues through the Banks annual Staff Engagement Survey and through their follow up focus groups. We’ll use this feedback, alongside our DE&I metrics, to identify barriers and opportunities, and to shape targeted interventions that drive real change.
5. Developing Female Talent for Future Roles – We will continue to invest in tailored development programmes to prepare our female colleagues for progression into roles as they become available.

Success will be measured through improved engagement scores, through positive feedback from our Women’s Network Group. Through seeing improvements in our DE&I metrics and seeing increased female representation in mid management to senior roles in the Bank. Most importantly success to me will be if our female colleagues continue to feel they have a space where they are heard, valued, seen and supported.