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Arab International Women’s Forum

The May 2012 Conference

Emerging Economies, Emerging Leaderships: Arab Women and Youth as Drivers of Change

American University of Sharjah

Sharjah, UAE

Opening Remarks Mrs Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani

Chairman, Arab International Women’s Forum

Contents Opening Remarks & Acknowledgements 3

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Arab Women and Youth as Engines of Change 9

& Growth in the Region The AIWF 2012 Programme: Developing The Next 19

Generation of Arab Women Leaders

Concluding Remarks 23

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Opening Remarks & Acknowledgements

Your Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi;

Member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates,

Ruler of Sharjah and President of AUS

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure indeed both personally and on behalf of

The Arab International Women’s Forum to welcome you all, our

honoured guests, this morning to the AIWF Conference, Emerging

Economies, Emerging Leaderships: Arab Women and Youth

as Drivers of Change, at The American University of Sharjah.

The Arab International Women’s Forum is very proud to be co-

hosting this important two-day Conference with AUS, one of the

leading universities and centres of excellence in the region, to

bring together eminent Arab and global leaders in business, public

life, academia, civil society to examine the role of women and

youth as drivers of economic growth in the Arab World.

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AIWF is proud and truly honoured to host our Annual Conference

under the esteemed Patronage of His Highness, Sheikh Dr Sultan

Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme Council of

the United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Sharjah and President of AUS.

We recognize with much appreciation the leadership and

outstanding support of His Highness in pursuing sustainable

development through the many valuable social and economic

initiatives he has launched in the Emirate to nurture civic

awareness and promote social connectivity between communities

and government.

His Highness has also been instrumental in fostering a unique

cultural legacy for the Emirate, through museums, institutes and

associations promoting Arab literature, arts, science, academia,

the conservation of national heritage, commerce, industry and

agriculture.

Indeed, Sharjah’s standing in the international community as a

leading centre of knowledge, culture and innovation in the region,

and as one of the Arab world’s most important trade hubs, is

testament to His Highness' extraordinary vision for the Emirate.

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I take this opportunity to extend our warmest thanks and

appreciation to Chancellor Dr Peter Heath and his esteemed

colleagues, most notably Dr Nada Mourtada-Sabbah, Vice

Chancellor for Development and Alumni Affairs, at The American

University of Sharjah. We thank you for your partnership on this

special and important occasion, and for the invaluable support and

cooperation established between the American University of

Sharjah and AIWF over the years.

We are indeed delighted to have AUS as our Host Partner as we

share a mutual commitment to uniting and supporting future Arab

women leaders.

We offer our special thanks and highest appreciation to the World

Bank and the OECD for their full support as Institutional Partners

lending their invaluable knowledge and expertise in the region.

I also take this opportunity to extend our special acknowledgement

and appreciation to The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and

Trade. Our conference today would not have been possible

without the valued cooperation and support of AIWF Global

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Corporate Benefactor Partner, PepsiCo, and the partnership of the

Manpower Group, Petrofac, Pfizer and DLA Piper.

We extend our deepest appreciation for the generous cooperation

we have so gratefully received from all of our valued partners, and

to all the landmark Arab and international companies represented

here today in Sharjah.

Our very special thanks are expressed to all our eminent and

distinguished Guest Speakers, who have travelled from all over the

world to be with us today, taking time from their busy schedules to

share and exchange expertise, best practices and

recommendations.

Indeed, I extend a very warm welcome to all our valued members

and delegates, and thank you all for accepting our invitation and

being present with us here in Sharjah for this groundbreaking

conference.

Distinguished Guests, since its inception in London in 2001 as a

not for profit, non governmental organisation with the motto

‘Building bridges, building business’, The Arab International

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Women’s Forum has served as a voice for Arab women,

showcasing their development, promoting cross cultural diversity

and creating greater public awareness of women’s success and

prospects in the Arab World but always with an International

context.

Our conference today serves as a forum for dialogue between

women in the Arab world and women in the international

community to encourage business growth, innovation and

intercultural collaboration between successful business leaders in

the Arab World and their counterparts in Europe, Asia and the

Americas.

Over the coming two days and with your valued participation, we

will explore viable initiatives that will enable, empower and

celebrate women entering into business, public life, civil service

and community leadership in the Arab world.

Significant events in the region in the last year have afforded us

with a unique opportunity to face up to the challenges of a new

era, examining the Arab world from a new and exciting

perspective, and exploring the potential and future ramifications of

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change within the region with a view to securing the partnership of

women and youth – and indeed, all Arab citizens.

Allow me to share with you at this moment our perspective on the

Conference Key Theme of Arab Women and Youth as Drivers of

Change.

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Arab Women and Youth as Engines of Change and Growth in

the Region

Distinguished Guests,

At a time when the world’s governments are reworking economic

strategies to restore long-term growth, and expectations for

increased transparency and accountability in both the public and

private sector are rising, it is more important than ever that we

respond to the aspirations of women and youth in the Arab world

by linking economic strategy with broader plans for societal

progress.

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 the last fifteen years 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 outnumber men in higher education and account

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for around 75% of students enrolled in colleges and universities in

the Arab world.

Arab women continue to take on prominent roles as decision-

makers, participating in their economies and societies as

professors, university deans, businesswomen, journalists, judges,

lawyers, ministers, media figures, bankers, doctors and financiers.

The number of women holding ministerial-level positions and other

roles in public life has especially increased in the last decade.

The number of women choosing entrepreneurship over traditional

employment has also grown impressively year to year. Women in

Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia constitute 67%, 63% and 57% of

university graduates respectively. Qatar has the highest level of

national women in the workplace at 35%, with 30% in Bahrain,

28% in the UAE, 25% in Oman and 17% in Saudi Arabia.

Women represent 50% of the SME enterprise sector, and women’s

workplace participation has risen from 10% in 1986 to 33% by

2008. The Boston Consulting Group estimates place wealth held

by women in the MENA region at $500 billion, while MEED

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estimates the wealth held by women in the Gulf region at $385

billion.

However, to put these achievements and figures into perspective,

women are still underrepresented in key sectors, including the

sciences, sports, media, education, religion, medicine, engineering

and the law, and gender barriers continue to restrict women’s

impact on the region’s key institutions.

Women are especially active in the agricultural sector in the Arab

region, maintaining the regional rural economy and, thus, food

security, yet the role and contributions of Arab women in rural

economies have never been fully recognised and indeed are often

downplayed.

Like their counterparts in Europe, Asia and the Americas, women

in business in all Arab countries still struggle with access to

finance and networking opportunities, skills building, specialised

training, and integration of advanced technology and marketing

trends. Societal norms and conservative traditions still exert

pressure on women in the Arab region, as they do in many other

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regions in the world, in many cases limiting opportunities for

education, employment or participation in public life.

If we are to achieve gender equality in the MENA region, the Arab

community must embrace sustainable development policy and

strategy with a rights-based focus on the Arab world's most

precious resource - its people, and especially its women and

youth.

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Investment in Education

Signs of Progress

Arab governments must be commended for their heavy investment

in education and for the impressive progress made toward the UN

Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary

education and gender equality in schools.

Universal literacy for young women is projected in all the GCC

countries within the coming five years; young women are enrolling

into higher education courses in numbers that are well exceeding

male enrolment; and Arab universities are producing some of the

world’s most competitive graduates and entrepreneurs.

The Way Forward

More can and should be done in the region to enhance women’s

access to quality education, offering girls the opportunity to excel

in the sciences, engineering and mathematics, and to respond to

the needs of future employers by providing women with skills in IT,

foreign languages and business administration.

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Arab Women in the Workforce

Current Challenges & Situation

Many countries in the Arab world have successfully adopted

strategies to positively promote gender equality. All countries in the

GCC have ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of

Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); Saudi Arabia and the

UAE have ratified the ILO Convention on equal pay for men and

women; and five of the GCC countries have also ratified the ILO

Convention on gender bias and discrimination in the workplace.

Although there is undeniably a significant gender gap still in place

and women are still vastly under-represented in the boardroom

(just 1.5% of boardroom seats in the GCC are held by women), the

participation of women in Arab economies is increasing and the

gap continues to narrow.

The Way Forward

In the GCC, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and the

Yemen, where a technologically savvy generation of Arab youth

form an overwhelming majority of the population, equipping the

next generation with world-class education and training in IT skills,

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critical thinking, modern languages and international business and

financial best practices, is of the utmost strategic importance.

The Arab world also boasts several notable initiatives, including

Injaz, Young Arab Leaders, Oasis 500 and the EFE Foundation,

that are offering solid employment and networking opportunities for

young job seekers by bringing capacity building courses into

classrooms in public schools, community colleges and universities,

teaching the leadership, business, entrepreneurial, economic,

critical thinking, communication and ICT skills that are so essential

to success in the global knowledge economy.

There is an urgent need for more formalized partnerships and a

deeper synergy between the academic and economic sectors.

Curriculums must be updated and synchronised with national

economic objectives in order to secure advanced opportunities for

women and youth to participate, succeed and lead in Arab

economies of the future. Arab universities must produce men and

women who are global-ready, and best equipped to help steer their

national economies towards greater global integration.

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Enabling Entrepreneurship

Signs of Progress

The Arab world's greatest challenge for the critical decade ahead

is to counter rising unemployment and create jobs for the next

generation and AIWF believes that this can best be achieved by

promoting entrepreneurship, empowering young business owners

and creating the best possible environment for SMEs to grow and

create jobs.

The Way Forward

Although Arab governments have been largely successful at

incentivizing and enabling the private sector to support women's

integration in the workforce, there is still a lot to be done to

overcome the challenges and barriers to entrepreneurship for

women in the region.

We are calling on GCC governments, regional development

groups and the Arab private sector to work together to establish

and support investment funds that will benefit women in business;

to support cross-border networking initiatives; and to form a

regional network of angel investors.

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Job Creation & Youth Unemployment in the Region

Coming to address the youth issues in the region

The MENA region has the disadvantage of having one of the

highest unemployment rates of all regions globally and job creation

is, now more than ever, a top regional priority. One in every four

young people living in the MENA region is unemployed.

Youth unemployment rates are especially and extremely high

countries such as Yemen at 50%, Algeria at nearly 46% and Iraq

at 43.5%. Of Libya’s 6.5 million people, approximately one-third

live in poverty. With more than 75% of young job seekers coming

from Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, these

countries are under immense pressure to create the most jobs,

and across the board, unemployment is still disproportionately high

among women.

The MENA-OECD Investment Programme, in its 2011

Competitiveness Report, outlines that at current unemployment

levels, 25 million jobs will need to be created over the next decade,

requiring an average annual growth rate of 5.5%, or a full point

above average growth in the region for the last decade.

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The Way Forward

A significant factor behind high unemployment levels in the region

is the often documented disconnect between the skills taught in

the current curriculum and those required by the private sector.

Substantive issues such as endemic youth unemployment cannot

be solved overnight, but AIWF has seen first-hand that the support

of global corporations in training, recruiting and developing a viable

workforce has a profound impact on the integration of Arab

graduates and entrepreneurs into the regional and global markets.

Arab corporations, governments and development organisations

must commit to promoting public-private partnerships and funding

concrete initiatives to diversify Arab economies beyond oil and

other traditional exports; renewing investment in academic

infrastructures and the Arab knowledge economy; improving

labour laws and policies; promoting a range of Arab-led

programmes to develop entrepreneurship and innovation; and

encouraging private sector development and foreign investment to

steer young graduates away from a preference for jobs in the

public sector, which remains the primary job creator in the Arab

world (especially in the GCC).

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The AIWF 2012 Programme: Developing The Next Generation

of Arab Women Leaders

Distinguished Guests,

Now more than ever, we can see that gender equality and equality

of economic opportunity for all citizens are key to successful,

inclusive and sustainable development for the MENA region, and

that Arab women are key engines of social progress and economic

growth.

Our Board and Members broadly agree that any assistance from

the Arab and international business and development communities

should be targeted at:

Education and job training, as well as raising general public

awareness of the important role women play in the

economy, whether formally or informally

Ensuring that the youth agenda is consolidated with a

platform for political and institutional reform, and always with

a secure seat at the table for women and youth

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Always supporting Arab human development, economic

integration and justice

Alleviating poverty, building capacity of youth and

empowering young entrepreneurs / job creators

Activating the role of the private sector and civil society so

they can really play a vital and pivotal role in Arab

development.

Ultimately, we must create and showcase Arab talent as role

models that will inspire the next generation. By actively promoting

women’s successes in the MENA, highlighting their

accomplishments in the media, honouring their achievements and

encouraging valuable experience exchange between successful

Arab businesswomen and young entrepreneurs, we can effectively

break stereotypes and challenge the barriers that are denying Arab

women a prominent voice as engines of economic growth in the

region.

Through our 2012 Annual Programme, promoting investment in

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youth through education, training and the development of

leadership skills, AIWF hopes to build new levels of competency

and confidence in young Arab women leaders that will enable

them to offer lasting legacies to the job-creating companies they

build and the communities in which they live, realising the positive

bottom-up effect that this will have on national and regional

economies and, ultimately, global economic recovery.

Over the course of the next two days, we will connect key change

agents from across the Arab world with their international

counterparts to address how governments and the private sector

can work together to ensure that skills education and workforce

development becomes a permanent priority on the Arab economic

agenda.

We look forward to working with our global partners to support and

nurture the next generation of women leaders, examining enablers

for entrepreneurial success for young business innovators in

emerging economies, drawing on the international experiences of

AIWF partners, sharing best practices and models for mentorship

and development programmes that will truly effect change and

ensure that the voices of women and youth are not marginalised.

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Our conference will explore current job creation initiatives in the

region and in other emerging economies around the world,

identifying barriers to female entrepreneurship in the region. We

will be examining the education system in the MENA region and

how it relates back to job creation, and we will identify and promote

factors that will create real opportunities and economic growth and

provide a better future for women and youth.

Indeed, job creation, education and capacity-building, sustainable

growth and gender equality are the central themes of this year’s

programme, because they are among the most critical challenges

the region is facing at this moment in time.

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Concluding Remarks

Ladies and gentlemen, Distinguished Guests; to conclude,

We are all meeting at a very critical time for the Arab region and

also a time of great economic and financial concern for the world’s

economy at large. It is a time of challenges and also many new

opportunities. We have the wealth, talent and funds in the region to

shift our priorities towards creating our own sustainable

development by focusing on women and youth and enhancing

collaboration between Arab nations.

Sharjah will no doubt provide us all with the fertile ground to

contribute a harvest of ideas and initiatives that will not only meet

the conference objectives but contribute to peace and prosperity in

the region. We look forward to collaborating with all our

distinguished guests, speakers and delegates to ensure that the

agenda for youth and women’s advancement in the Arab World

moves forward.

I wish you all an enjoyable, stimulating and productive conference.

Thank you for your kind attention.