ARAB INTERNATIONAL WOMEN S FORUM Young Arab Women Leaders: The Voice of the Future at The Lebanese American University, Beirut, Riyad Nassar Library, Info Commons Area, 8 th Floor on 20 September 2012
Opening Remarks & Acknowledgements Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, It gives me great pleasure indeed, both personally and as Chairman of the Arab International Women s Forum (AIWF), to welcome you all this morning to our conference, Young Arab Women Leaders The Voice of the Future. AIWF is proud and delighted to be hosting this unique one-day event in Beirut in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Institute for Women s Studies in the Arab World, here at the prestigious Lebanese American University. I wish at the outset to extend a very warm welcome to HE Mrs Mona Afeiche as Special Representative of HE Mrs Wafa Sleiman,First Lady of Lebanon.We are most appreciative of the support of the First Lady and her encouragement for our Conference and we value the gracious presence of Mrs Afeiche. 2
Today, we are proud to offer this opportunity for women leaders in Lebanon to engage in dialogue, exchange experiences and best practices, and for us to reflect on shared challenges as they relate to mentorship, the importance of successful networking and leadership training. As part of the ongoing AIWF initiative focusing on young women leaders in the Arab region, this conference is the second in a series, following on from the inaugural conference held in Amman, Jordan on 26 June 2012. Today s event in Beirut will inspire young women leaders in understanding the role of gender in shaping the political, economic and social opportunities available to women in the Arab world. Lebanon is and has always been one of the region s most progressive environments for women s empowerment, entrepreneurship and above all education, which made it a clear choice for today s event. 3
As Founder Chairman and on behalf of the Board of the Arab International Women's Forum as well as our Partners, may I begin by extending our warmest thanks and appreciation to our partners at PwC, especially Mr Warwick Hunt, Middle East Managing Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers; Mr Camille Sifri, Country Senior Partner at PwC Lebanon and Leader of the Audit Practice; and their esteemed colleagues for their invaluable cooperation and partnership. This event is truly a positive demonstration of the global partnership between our two organisations, built over a number of years, working together on diversity and inclusiveness issues, promoting investment in youth through education, training and the development of leadership skills. AIWF is proud to have the Institute for Women s Studies in the Arab World (IWASAW) as a valued Institutional Partner. I wish to express my deep thanks and appreciation to the Institute and to the Lebanese American University, for their invaluable support in hosting our conference today. 4
We applaud the important work of LAU as one of the region s most respected academic centres of excellence, especially for its programmes to empower Lebanese women through education and its commitment to keeping gender issues at the forefront of socioeconomic progress in Lebanon and the region. We fully share the commitment of The LAU and the Institute to serving as catalysts for policy change in the region regarding the rights of women. Critically, we also share the mutual objective of facilitating networking and communication among individuals, groups and institutions concerned with women in the Arab world, strengthening ties with the international community and centres of academic excellence throughout the world. We welcome and acknowledge with much appreciation, our distinguished Guest Speakers, government representatives, business leaders, academics and valued AIWF members and global partners and thank you all for your support and for accepting our invitation. 5
We are very fortunate indeed to have prominent and accomplished women leaders who will help bring our conference to life and help us understand more about personal accountability, leadership and confidence building to inspire the next generation. I acknowledge with much appreciation the presence of no less than 30 distinguished representatives of AIWF Key Global Partners all working in Lebanon, and they include Pepsico, Shell, PwC, Pfizer, DLA Piper and Memac Ogilvy. I thank too Ms Alia Ibrahim for moderating today s conference and extend to her our welcome and appreciation. Today, successful Lebanese, Arab and international women representing no less than 40 sectors in the Economy will share with us success stories, their reflections on leadership, on how best to deal with the inevitable challenges and provide motivation and encouragement to other young women leaders. We are much looking forward to all your valuable contributions as speakers and as discussants. 6
Distinguished Guests, Allow me first to share our understanding of the current challenges and opportunities for women in the region in this extraordinary time in Arab history and the way forward in empowering the next generation of women leaders. 7
Looking at the Achievements & Challenges of Women in the Arab World in 2012 and Beyond Distinguished Guests, In the last decade and a half, the region has moved in the right direction to remove cultural constraints to gender equality through education, entrepreneurship and political empowerment. Progress made by Arab women in this period has resulted in an ever narrowing gender gap in the MENA with particular improvements being made in the areas of literacy, women s entrepreneurship and political participation. Throughout the Arab region women have outnumbered men in higher education and there are more Arab women serving in company boardrooms, political cabinets and the regional and global media than ever before. The number of women holding ministerial-level positions and other roles in public life has also increased in the last decade, which has seen more women exert a strong, positive and lasting influence on their communities by taking on prominent roles as 8
decision-makers, participating in their economies and societies as educators, professors, university deans, businesswomen, judges, lawyers, bankers, medical professionals, government ministers, journalists, media figures and rising sports stars. The Parade of Nations at the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony introduced the world to several Arab female athletes. The number of women choosing entrepreneurship over traditional employment grows impressively each year. Women in the MENA represent 50% of the SME enterprise sector; women in Lebanon make up 30% of the country s small and medium enterprises. Throughout the region, women s workplace participation has risen from 10% in 1986 to 33% in 2008; in Lebanon, there are more women in the labour force between the ages of 20-29 but their numbers decline sharply in later years due to family responsibilities and employer preference for hiring men. The Boston Consulting Group estimates overall wealth held by women in the MENA region at $500 billion, growing at a rate of 9% per year, while MEED, a Middle East business media company, 9
estimates wealth managed by women in the six GCC countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE alone at $385 billion. In Saudi Arabia, women also hold more than $13 billion in local bank accounts that could potentially be invested back into the local and regional economy. In nearly two thirds of Middle Eastern countries, there are now more women than men in university, according to United Nations statistics, accounting for up to 75% of students currently enrolled in colleges and universities in the region. In Lebanon, the gross enrolment rate of tertiary education is over 56% female. Literacy rates for women throughout the MENA are higher than those of men, and education statistics for women and girls are showing substantial gains in primary, secondary and tertiary enrolment. This represents a major leap for the Arab world towards achieving one of the UN's most important Millennium Development Goals - eliminating disparity in education by 2015. 10
However, while most women in the region are welcoming the progress in education, many are rightly concerned that these advances do not seem to be translating into gender equality in the workplace and in society. Despite years of progress, societal norms and traditions are still exerting a unique and limiting pressure on women, while female entrepreneurs in all Arab countries still struggle when it comes to access to finance (in Lebanon, only 3% of loans are granted to female entrepreneurs), and difficulty with networking opportunities, skills and confidence building and specialist training, and integration of advanced technology and marketing trends. These are some of the challenges that will be addressed at our conference today. While the gender gap has certainly narrowed in Lebanon and in many Arab countries in the last fifteen years, there are still a lot of women studying to degree level and beyond who remain ultimately absent 11
from attaining prominent positions in Arab workforces, Arab courts and Arab politics. To give an example here in Lebanon, where women constitute 56% of university students, they only count for 26% of the labour force and 8% of legislators, senior officials, directors and managers, according to the UN. In the region overall, women are still vastly underrepresented in the sciences, in sports, religion, medicine, engineering and law. Women are especially active in the agricultural sector in the Arab region, maintaining the regional rural economy and, thus, food security, but the role and contributions of Arab women in rural economies have never been fully recognised and indeed are often downplayed. Challenges of gender inequality and access to education, capital and opportunity are by no means exclusive to the MENA; these are issues that are faced in both developed and developing countries all over the world, but the disparities are well documented in the region. 12
We are here today because we believe that the best way forward is to empower female role models in Lebanon and throughout the region to inspire and empower their counterparts in other Arab countries, showcasing best practices and successes so that they can be emulated throughout the region. We have already come such a long way; the opportunities available to women today would have been unthinkable for women only a generation ago, and in the light of recent events in the region, there are now unprecedented opportunities for women overall and for young women in particular to play a critical role in shaping the frameworks that will set legal, political and social precedents for the decades to come. Already, there are signs of progress, and we must acknowledge these successes, move them forward and ensure that momentum in the region is not lost. 13
Allow me to share what AIWF is doing to develop the Next Generation of Women Leaders Distinguished Guests, The Arab International Women s Forum was established in 2001 as a non profit, non governmental organisation, to link Arab Women in all sectors with their counterparts in the international community. With the motto building bridges, building business, AIWF helps to create greater understanding of women s challenges and prospects in the Arab World but always with an international context Since its inception AIWF has consistently called for the region to fully utilise its most precious natural resource its human capital, stressing in all our Annual Programmes and initiatives the importance of developing a viable middle class, while advocating for equal opportunities to be offered to all Arab citizens. Indeed entrepreneurship and the creation of viable business environments where SMEs can flourish have been common 14
keystones of our groundbreaking AIWF Annual Programmes and Conferences over the years, held in Paris, London, Brussels, Madrid, Cairo, Amman, Sharjah, Washington DC, Damascus and Dubai and now Beirut. For 2012 and beyond, with over half of the Arab world s population under the age of 30, we clearly see job creation, education and capacity building as being of critical importance, not just for the future of the Arab region but for all emerging economies. Empowering youth is key to building a strong, viable and educated Arab middle class. Hence our focus and emphasis on Young Arab Women Leaders. We believe that women's entrepreneurship is absolutely essential to the sustainable development process. To quote from a recent report published by Booz and Co in Dubai recently entitled Staying on The Road to Growth, Bringing educated women and properly skilled youth into the economy fuels growth, enterprise creation and employment. This will be crucial for lasting and sustainable development in the MENA region. 15
Concluding Remarks Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests, to conclude The main objective of today s timely conference is to identify and build a network for professional Arab and Lebanese women, bringing you all together as an inspirational group of young women who are all marked for future positions of increased responsibility within your companies, organisations and communities. We want to create together AN IDEAS EXCHANGE, (not a Stock Exchange) between young women in The Arab region. Today s event also bridges our first conference in Jordan with the third conference in the series for this year, to be held in Dubai in December, with much more planned for the exciting Young Women Leaders Programme in 2013 and beyond in the Arab world. We all acknowledge that we are meeting at a critical time in the Arab Region and also a time of great economic and financial concern for the world economy at large. It is a time of challenges but also a time of many new opportunities. We do have the wealth, talent and funds 16
in the region to shift our priorities towards creating our own sustainable development by focusing on women and youth as drivers of change and enhancing collaboration between the Arab nations. Throughout the day, we ask that you take an active role. You all embody the new models of leadership and entrepreneurship, carrying the torch of women leaders who left their mark before you and who inspired and motivated by their actions future generations, many of them are amongst us today. I salute them and salute you all. Allow me to conclude with a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, who was a well-known author, columnist and the First Chairman of the United Nations Commission of Human Rights in 1941: 17
And I quote, I was not a gifted person, I was always deeply interested in every manifestation in life, good or bad. I never let slip an opportunity to increase my knowledge and condition. Everything was great to my eyes, not only the things that I saw but the people I met. I only had 3 assets: I was keenly interested; I accepted every challenge and opted to learn more, and I had great energy and discipline. As a result I have never looked for interest to fill my life Thank you all for your kind attention and I wish you all a productive day. 18