Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) held a colloquium titled “Women in Leadership in Qatar”, bringing together a number of distinguished speakers from across Qatar
Foundation (QF).
The discussion explored ways to ensure the removal of barriers to women’s leadership and the various ways to develop and harness the leadership potential of women in Qatar.
The event was hosted by HBKU’s College of Law and Public Policy (CLPP).
Four prominent women speakers shared their respective views on the challenges and opportunities faced by women leaders in Qatar today: Dr Amira Sonbol, professor of history at Georgetown University in Qatar; Dr Amal Mohamed al-Malki, founding dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences at HBKU; Maryam al-Bader, legal counsel at QF; and Dr Ghida al-Juburi, legal adviser and secretary of the board at QF.
The discussion emphasised how the empowerment of women is crucial if the region is to reach its full economic potential. The discussion covered such topics as women in leadership from a historical context, portrayals of women in the media, and whether legally binding quotas for women should be introduced at board level.
Al-Malki said, “I would like to stress on women’s role in leadership in Qatar and the Gulf and propose ways that can further promote our main objectives, such as increasing the percentage of women in leadership positions by raising awareness and creating leadership programmes and working towards eliminating gender segregation to achieve equality in the workforce.”
Rebecca Schillings, assistant professor at HBKU’s CLPP and one of the organisers of the colloquium, said: “What we hoped to accomplish with this colloquium was to provide students and participants from the community with diverse perspectives from both law practitioners and experts to help them understand how they can better use law to create a more gender-equal and diverse
workforce.”
Participants at the colloquium.
