Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 1 April 2022: This week, the Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society co-hosted sessions on “Empowering Societal Resilience on gender equality” at the World Government Summit in Dubai. The Summit also marked the conclusion of the World Expo, Expo 2020 Dubai. 

The Women's Forum, through its international network, gathered 10 high-level speakers, who participated in the Summit by highlighting their expertise on gender equality, on the following themes: Empowering Societies with Future Skills, Women's Empowerment and Gender Balance & Women in Leadership and Government.

Audrey Tcherkoff, Managing Director of the Women’s Forum said: “The talks held at the Forum have given us a platform to discuss gender inequality and call for greater diversity. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have created a setback of one generation. Gender equality is as much a fight for men as it is for women, and it is with great pleasure that we have welcomed such a high caliber of speakers in Dubai.”
At the beginning of the summit, a panel discussion was held at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Women’s Pavilion. Each speaker, according to their own personal and professional experiences, tackled work-life balance issues derived from gender stereotypes as well as other gender issues within the workplace (gender pay gap, sexism and unequal gender representation at all levels). This session highlighted the obstacles faced by women in their careers and shared the innovative solutions they propose to continue fostering long-lasting change towards equality and empowerment. The insights shared during this session gave the audience tools to act within their personal and professional lives. 

More than 25 global and regional CEOs business leaders also interacted during a lunch for CEO Champions. Organized by the Women’s Forum and its knowledge partner McKinsey & Company, the CEO Champions is an iconic initiative of the Women’s Forum which is now in its 12th year. Attendees engaged on the best practices to be developed within companies to work towards a more equal economy, with a particular focus on the Towards the Zero Gender Gap commitment. McKinsey shared the exclusive survey results for the region on the topic of the future of work and the ways in which we need to increase the skills of women in STEM.

Guests and speakers at the forum included Ouided Bouchamaoui, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2015; Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology; Asrar Damdam, CEO and Founder of Uver; Jean-Paul Scheuer, General Manager Sanofi Genzyme and MCO Lead Greater Gulf, Sanofi; Matthew Lewis, Managing Director, Russel Reynolds Associates Middle East; Samar Alshorafa, Founding CEO of She is Arab; Mimoun A. Assraoui, CEO, Rif Trust and Hind Alowais, Senior Vice President of International Participants Department, Expo 2020 Dubai; Chiara Riffaldi, Principal, Kearney UAE and Isabel Neiva, Partner, Kearney UAE.