By: Jeanette Teh
The Global Women’s Forum began on Tuesday [24th February 2016] in Dubai at Madinat Jumeirah, hosting approximately 2000 delegates from all over the world.
Distinguished speakers in the largest women’s empowerment and leadership event in the MENA region, were asked to share stories about turning points in their careers and about the role models in their lives.
Dr. Amal Al Qubaisi, who was appointed President of the UAE’s Federal National Council (FNC) late last year, recalls her first election day. It was the first time she was nominated for the FNC and an elderly man approached to tell her how he had driven three hours from the Western Region just to vote for her.
The role of leadership in innovation and empowerment
It was particularly memorable how his age did not prevent him from supporting her as a woman; this seed of women empowerment philosophy likely planted by Sheikh Zayed, the founding father of the UAE. After all, it is because of his visionary leadership that has given birth to all the country has accomplished in a mere four decades.
With “Let’s Innovate!” being the theme of the conference, Dr. Al Qubaisi succinctly described how critical a country’s leader is in igniting innovation, explaining that she dreamed because “this is a country where dreams come true”.
The importance of leadership in creating the right environment for gender equality was woven in throughout the day, with most speakers, including Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, making reference to the inspirational leadership of the UAE in her keynote address.
Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who has recently been unanimously re-appointed by the 188 countries in the IMF for her second five-year term, is the lady of many firsts. From being the first female Chairperson of law firm Baker McKenzie to the first female Finance and Economy Minister of a G-8 Country, she is now the first woman Managing Director of the IMF.
Thanking the leaders of the UAE for empowering their women, she emphasized how policy makers in other nations need to address the following three issues in advancing women’s rights:
- Making changes to the legal system to provide equal opportunity. Lagarde reported that an astounding 90% of 143 countries still contain laws that either prevent women from being able to achieve to their full potential or from having the same rights as men;
- Providing girls with equal access to (higher) education; and
- Providing more access to finance for SMEs since female entrepreneurs have more difficulty raising capital than their male counterparts.
Role models from all walks of life
Ms. Lagarde described women whose spirit of resilience she admired from world leaders like Angela Merkel, Aung San Suu Kyi, and of an older woman refugee in Jordan’s Za’atari refugee camp who pleaded for world leaders to help reconstruct Syria so that she and her people could touch the ground of their country once again.
She also learned about strength from her mother and about how to “keep both your head down and stand tall at the same time” from professional role models such as the first female partner at her law firm.
While most speakers named their mothers and public figures as role models, H.E. Reem Al Hashemi, 
UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, talked about the “diversity of the people” she has met who have left different impact and thumbprints for her. She explained that she has “learned from them — young and old, those who are incredibly powerful and those who work in the shadows”.
“I also believe very much that you can derive inspiration from the least likely source if you are self-aware and aware of others and the contributions that they make,” she continued. “It is not just somebody I look to emulate, but there are many qualities that I’ve found in many people, in particular, resilience, the sheer determination to not just survive, but to really thrive and make good with little that we have against all odds — the power in the human spirit that exists in an athlete or a refugee”.
Break the glass ceiling and then be a champion for others
When asked about how women should go about breaking the glass ceiling on the way up the corporate ladder, Christine Lagarde advised to “first stand up for yourself and not be submissive or overly aggressive. Next, pick a champion because things don’t happen in isolation. You need to have others with you to form a team, either someone laterally alongside you or above you, anywhere on the ladder. Once you’ve broken the ceiling, keep those connections and be a champion for others and create that multiplier effect”.
The championing of other women echoes Queen Rania’s earlier statement of how empowering women empowers the whole society because when women succeed, they will pull up those around her, often giving more than she receives.
This article was originally published on Feb 24th 2016 at http://www.gulfbusiness.com.
Jeanette Teh is a legal and corporate trainer, adjunct (assistant) professor, non-practicing lawyer, writer, coach, and founder of Kaleidoscopic Sky. You can find more about her at http://linkedin.com/in/jeanette-teh-601115.