In fact, we can have world-class policies, but if we don’t have a culture where people feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work, rules alone won’t get us to where we need to be. This is true of every element of diversity and inclusion. In a culture where taking extended leave damages your career prospects, a generous parental leave policy won’t make up for that. In a culture where people don’t feel that their voices are welcome, few will speak up. In a culture that fails to embrace differences, we won’t reap the benefits of diversity. 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  The data are clear. Nearly half of LGBT people are closeted at work, and the top reason LGBT workers don’t report negative comments they hear about LGBT employees is they don’t believe that anything will be done about it.3 This gets to the heart of why the “inclusion” piece of diversity and inclusion is essential, and a personal priority. Obviously, there’s a moral imperative for diversity, and numerous studies have shown the benefits to both productivity and the bottom line.4 But for me, it’s my experiences as both an academic and a policymaker that have made inclusion so important. Economics is a profession that has a glaring diversity issue. As economists, we have not done enough to create a diverse profession or an inclusive culture. When I’m sitting in a room and see a bunch of people who look and sound the same, I know it’s a problem.
The wider use of commodity murabahah transactions will also add breadth and depth to the Islamic money market as it facilitates a more efficient distribution of money-market liquidity and expands the range of instruments that market participants can actively transact in. We are pleased to announce that Bank Negara Malaysia will soon be adding murabahah-based transactions to our already diverse range of policy instruments to manage short-term liquidity in the Malaysian Islamic inter-bank money market. The Bank Negara Malaysia's murabahah basedtransactions may either utilise global or Malaysian commodities as the underlying transaction, and in the future, other Shariah-approved assets similar to the Ijarah sukuk notes. The widespread usage of this globally practised financing instrument would allow market participation by a more extensive investor base, including those from the Middle-East. Product innovation must be a continuous and deliberate part of the process of market development. We are therefore firmly committed to developing the capabilities in Islamic finance and strengthening the global pool of talent and expertise in Islamic finance to increase the potential for this to happen. As part of the initiative to meet this objective, we have established the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance, INCEIF, in March this year to offer professional certification programs in Islamic finance, in addition to, Masters and Doctorate programs. Bank Negara Malaysia has also recently  2  BIS Review 74/2006  made available a Shariah Scholarship Award and Shariah Research Grant, available to Malaysian and non-Malaysians seeking to pursue research studies in Islamic finance.