Hana Financial Group is spearheading female empowerment with its program designed to unlock the potential of women's talents and to nurture them as leaders shaping the future of the group.

The financial conglomerate, with subsidiaries of a retail bank, credit card and insurance firms, among others, under its wing, said it launched the fourth edition of Hana Waves, an annual in-house program that has nurtured 98 future female leaders since its establishment in 2021.

Hana Waves -- Women's Actions, Voices and Emotions -- aims to create a wave of innovation through participants' opinions and feelings with an aim to boost the group's gender diversity efforts at the senior executive level. Of 98 participants who completed the program, seven have made the executive level so far.

This year, Hana recruited 22 members for the fourth class of Hana Waves, after receiving recommendations from the CEOs of each affiliated company. The participants will undergo training sessions in leadership strategy, communication, team project activities, digital environment and data, while receiving feedback from previous Hana Waves members.

During the event, Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo encouraged the Hana Waves participants and offered advice on the attitude and capabilities necessary to be a leader.

“To become an appealing leader, you must always lead by example and always stay competitive through learning,” he said.

Emphasizing the group’s culture of human resources, Ham said employees who diligently do their jobs in a humble manner would be recognized regardless of their academic background, qualifications or gender.

“The most important thing is a human-centered mindset. Thinking centered on customers and staff members, and winning their hearts is the starting point of management and the role of a leader.”

Hana said it plans to continue to create opportunities for the group and its employees to grow together by expanding systematic leadership programs.

Along with the program, the financial group and its subsidiaries have been pushing their environmental, social and corporate governance efforts.

In April, the group’s flagship Hana Bank pledged to expand its participation in the UN Global Compact Forward Faster initiative, aiming to accelerate private sector progress on sustainable development goals.

In addition to its commitment to action on addressing climate change issues, the lender also vowed to participate in the areas of "gender equality" and "living wage" to strive to expand gender diversity and create a working environment for work-family balance.

Last year, Hana Financial Group was included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, which recognizes businesses committed to transparency in gender reporting and promoting women’s rights.