Lives and Livelihoods A Delicate Balance Dr. Mohammad Y. Al-Hashel Speech by Chairman of the Higher Steering Committee for Economic Stimulus and Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait 7 June 2020  Taken aback by a pandemic the world had not seen in seven decades, we are left with no choice but to do our best to protect lives. Hurriedly and feverishly imposed measures, as extreme as total lockdowns, brought about the worst global recession since the Great Depression of the early 20th century. Forecasts suggest a drop of 3-5% in gross domestic product, while growth in Europe is forecast to go down 8-12%. With unemployment hitting unprecedented highs, 1.6 billion workers are negatively impacted by the pandemic. The International Labor Organization expects a loss of around 305 million full-time jobs in the second quarter of 2020, and estimates that one of six young people is now out of the job market as a result of the pandemic. And as companies continue to suffer, more are going out of business and this phenomenon would blow up even further. The Organization expects that the “Lockdown Generation” would face even higher unemployment and lower pay for the next five years. These factors combined lead to uncertainty regarding the true extent and severity of the crisis, causing fear and panic among consumers, investors and the business sector as a whole, intensifying further the economic and social impact of the pandemic.
Diversity is not only about our physiological identity – our gender, ethnicity. It is also about our sociological identity – our background, experience – and our neurological identity – our personalities, how our brains are wired. When I joined the Bank of England 26 years ago, I was physiologically similar to others at the Bank, but quite different along these broader sociological and neurological dimensions. In fact, I was the beneficiary of one of the Bank’s first waves of diversity initiatives. And I am delighted to say that, following a sequence of initiatives over the years, the Bank today is a significantly more diverse place along all these dimensions. So too, I am sure, are all of your organisations. The numbers here speak for themselves with a steadily rising trend, over several decades now, of female and ethnic minority representation in the workplace and, admittedly more limited, evidence of a rising trend at senior executive and board level. That is good 3  progress, spurred on by initiatives such as Helena’s 30% Club , Jayne-Anne’s review of gender diversity 4  5  earlier this year and John Parker’s review of ethnic diversity just last week. But can we rest on our laurels? My answer to that – and I imagine Helena’s, Jayne-Anne’s and John’s too - is a resounding no. Many of our organisations have diversity policies, champions and initiatives. Yet this is still a subject owned by the HR department rather than the Boardroom or Executive Suite in many firms.