DUBAI, 27th November, 2024 (WAM) – Achieving meaningful outcomes and measuring progress in breaking down systemic barriers to women’s economic participation requires serious intentionality and commitment, experts said during a panel discussion on ‘Accelerating Women’s Economic Empowerment: Future Trends’ at the Global Women’s Forum Dubai 2024.
The panellists at the session included Fatima Al Nuaimi, Executive Vice President, Downstream Business Management, ADNOC; Ana Kreacic, Chief Knowledge Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Oliver Wyman Forum; and Nathalie Akon Gabala, Global Director of Gender and Economic Inclusion, IFC. The session was moderated by the Editor-in-Chief of The National, Mina Al-Oraibi.
“It takes commitment in terms of achieving outcomes, and it takes commitment in terms of measuring progress while achieving these outcomes,” said Gabala of IFC, pointing out that “progress has been so slow because of lack of coordination and an integrated approach, and more importantly, a holistic approach.”
“You first have to have intent, and you have to have the senior leadership vision, and commitment,” said Kreacic, adding that there has been a tremendous amount of change. “The world for women in many countries and many organisations, has significantly shifted into the possibilities that exist there,” she added.
Sharing her experience at ADNOC, Fatima Al Nuaimi said women’s participation in typically male-dominated industries like oil and gas has undergone major shifts. With its group of companies, ADNOC represents a whole value chain, but historically, most of the operations happen in remote offshore areas where women cannot operate.
“Today, with the advancement of technology, it is not the same environment that prevailed in the 70s and the 80s, and having women working on these platforms is possible,” she said. ADNOC now has almost 1,000 women professionals working on both onshore and offshore sites, she added.
According to Kreacic, it is important to measure the progress of women’s representation at all levels from entry to senior management levels so that strategies to get more women in leadership positions can be crafted.
She said talent gaps are a huge issue globally as well as in the region, and this is going to be a continuing issue. “We cannot ignore the fact that 50 per cent of the population are women, because we are going to need more women in the workforce,” and it is important to focus on how to provide them with the best career pathways, the best jobs, and how to upskill them for the roles of the future, which are massively shifting with technology.