This roundtable forum brought high-level constituents together face-to-face to discuss how companies in the GCC are working to attract, retain and develop more women into senior corporate positions and the impact it has on their business. The Pearl Initiative also launched its latest report: “Women Careers in GCC: Four Good Practice Case Studies” at the event
The purpose of the event was to bring together high-level constituents face-to-face for a dynamic discussion on how businesses in the Gulf Region can attract, retain and develop more women into senior corporate positions. The Forum was attended by approximately 60 executives from public and private companies, family firms, academia, state-owned entities and semi-government bodies from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.
The event hosted a vibrant panel representing the companies who participated in the case study report, GE, Olayan Group, PDO and PepsiCo along with Khalid AlKhudair, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, GloWork. This was followed by a question that was posed to the audience on what priorities CEOs should focus on.
Keynote speaker: Rania Rizk, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Asia, Middle East and North Africa at PepsiCo.
Key takeaways from the event
- getting the buy-in from all levels of the organisation is key to the successful implementation of policies
- SMEs have an important role in providing job opportunities for women, this is not just an issue for large organisations
- Senior management must monitor the implementation of policies to ensure they are being implemented effectively.
- Companies must find ways to implement and support work-life balance.