(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Women across the UAE have risen to become CEOs, senior executives and ministers in government. Yet, there is a major need for capacity building in women's leadership and exploring opportunities in local and international markets, said Sophie Le Ray, CEO of Naseba.
"Around 14 per cent of senior management roles in the UAE are held by women, a study released by consultants Grant Thornton in 2014 showed. That was below a global average of 24 per cent but above nine per cent for Japan, 10 per cent for the Netherlands and 13 per cent for Switzerland, the study found," said Sophie.
Naseba launched the Global WIL Economic Forum in 2009 and in five years, this initiative has emerged into a global platform gathering upto 750 business leaders, entrepreneurs, policy makers, D&I experts and international and local organisations supporting women's economic advancement.
"It is definitely very exciting to offer access to an extended network of female leaders and male champions of change whose common aims are to enrich leadership opportunities for women and promote economic growth globally."
According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2014, there's no country in the world that offers equal pay for a woman and man for the same job. It will take 81 years for this gender gap to close. The gender gap for economic participation and opportunity now stands at 60 per cent worldwide.
The UAE has closed more than five per cent of its gender gap during the past nine years and achieved the highest percentage change relative to its 2006 score on the Political Empowerment index.
It also ranked second best in the Middle East for wage equality and the best in the rate of literacy. But the pool of potential women executives is still low. Globally, half of women participate in the labour force, but that number falls to about 20 per cent in the Middle East, according to the International Monetary Fund.
When asked about Naseba's recommendation for the UAE to encourage more women to tap growth channels, she said: "Leaders at the World Economic Forum have joined a growing consensus: The global economy isn't working for everyone. More than one billion people are still living in extreme poverty, structural unemployment is preventing entire generations from accessing jobs, and women in most parts of the world still face significant barriers in entering the labour force."
These facts translate into untapped opportunities for businesses to create value. Opportunities include accessing the best talent, building the most productive workforces, ensuring stable and predictable supply chains and attracting consumers who have sufficient spending power.
The CEO said that economic inequality for women costs an estimated $9 trillion per year in the developing world. A combination of low pay, low participation in the workforce and insecure employment drags down women's economic opportunities as well as the global economy.
"By promoting economic development through female entrepreneurship, expanding investment opportunities for businesswomen, and by creating a culture that embraces inclusion, we can leave a legacy for the next generation to build on a more sustainable and diverse society; a society of growth."
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