BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Oct. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BBVA Compass today launched the Birmingham chapter of its Business Resource Group (BRG) Women in Leadership.

As the bank's first-ever BRG, Women in Leadership underpins the bank's Workplace Diversity and Inclusion initiatives which seek to leverage diversity and inclusion to create a culture that values the contributions of all employees and provides equal opportunity for professional development and career advancement. To support the creation of this culture, Women in Leadership looks to provide the tools and training needed to prepare women for career advancement, promote greater retention of female team members and create more opportunities for development and mentorship for all women at the bank.

According to Chief Talent and Culture Executive Rosilyn Houston, accomplishing these goals will have a positive impact on the bank as team members actively involved in the group become more engaged and empowered. 

"Business Resource Groups are valuable to companies, with studies showing that they lead to an increase in acquisition, promotion and retention in institutions that have used them," Houston said. "We chose Women in Leadership to be the first BRG for the bank because team member feedback showed us that we have opportunities in the area of career development for qualified and professional women. So, we're embracing that and looking to show that this effort can drive real business impact."

Leveraging BRGs to affect change is a concept whose time has come, and doing so with women in leadership is a good place to start. According to Pew Research Center's Women and Leadership 2018 study a majority of Americans (59%) say there are too few women in top leadership positions - including business and politics - and six-in-ten of those surveyed say that a major reason why women are underrepresented in top executive positions in business is that women have to do more to prove themselves than men. Half say gender discrimination is a major barrier for women in business.

To accomplish its goals around women in leadership, the group is organized around four pillars, including critical issue resolution, community service, driving business and an annual summit to foster leadership development. By ensuring its activities adhere to these pillars, the group intends to be a forum where women - and the men that support the development of female leaders - can connect with one another in order to develop and enhance their skills and experience, but also use the talents of the same individuals to deliver business results.

"As a female leader at BBVA Compass, I'm proud of the steps we are taking to recognize and address the challenges women face in the workplace," said Andrea Smith, BBVA Compass Birmingham Market CEO and Executive Sponsor of Women in Leadership's Birmingham Chapter. "The intentional commitment to do better in this area underscores the bank's overall pledge to listen, understand and act on employee needs."

The Birmingham chapter of BBVA Compass Women in Leadership is the second at the bank. The effort kicked off last year in Houston, which boasts 70 Charter members. In Birmingham, more than 300 attended the kickoff event.

To learn more about BBVA Compass, visit: www.bbvacompass.com or www.bbva.com.

For more news visit: www.bbva.com and newsroom.bbvacompass.com

About BBVA Group
BBVA BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a strong leadership position in the Spanish market, is the largest financial institution in Mexico, it has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States; and it is also the leading shareholder in Garanti, Turkey's biggest bank for market capitalization. Its diversified business is focused on high-growth markets and it relies on technology as a key sustainable competitive advantage. Corporate responsibility is at the core of its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion, and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies the best practices. More information about BBVA Group can be found at bbva.com.

About BBVA Compass
BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 645 branches, including 332 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 63 in Arizona, 61 in California, 45 in Florida, 37 in Colorado and 18 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (6th). BBVA Compass has been recognized as one of the leading small business lenders by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and ranked 6th nationally in the total number of SBA loans originated in fiscal year 2017. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at www.bbvacompass.com. For more BBVA Compass news, follow @BBVACompassNews on Twitter, visit newsroom.bbvacompass.com, or visit bbva.com.

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SOURCE BBVA Compass