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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.