Arab businesswomen meet counterparts at “Davos for women”

Around 900 women from 88 countries participated in the 16th annual Global Summit for Women, which concluded on Monday in Cairo. The summit, popularly referred to as “The Davos for Women”, focused on providing female business leaders from both the public and private sectors with the techniques and connections needed for advancement. Organisers said that, by holding the conference in Egypt, non-Arab participants had a chance to see the “business excellence” of women from Egypt and other Arab countries, while Muslim and Arab women had the chance to network with counterparts from other countries. The main speakers at the conference were Sanaa Moneim al-Banna, chairperson of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company; and Sahar al-Sallab, vice chairperson and managing director of the Commercial International Bank, the largest private bank in Egypt. “My hope was to break some of the stereotypes of Arab women as veiled, silent and passive…by presenting examples of women who have broken through, as well as efforts by those from the lower and middle ranks to get more involved in business,” said summit president Irene Natividad. “The general focus was on how to accelerate women’s economic advancement in every country. This summit is very practical in its intent, so the results are much individualised.” To illustrate her point, Natividad pointed to Gisele Rufer, owner and founder of the Swiss company Delance, which markets a line of upscale watches entirely designed and produced by women. During the conference, Rufer met a member of the Chinese delegation, who voiced an intention to import Delance’s watches to China. Natividad also cited a memorandum of understanding singed between Egyptian, Chinese and Vietnamese women entrepreneurs’ associations to cooperate on building a joint-owned factory in Egypt to employ women. Natividad went on to say that the growing role of women in the world economy made the summit particularly important, pointing out that women currently comprise between 40 and 50 percent of the paid workforce worldwide. The percentage of women-owned businesses, she added, was also on the rise globally. “Some 44 percent of privately-owned firms in the US are now owned by women; 30 percent in Europe; 25 percent in Japan; and 20 percent in China,” she said. “In terms of micro-enterprises, 80 percent are owned by women worldwide.” This is important, Natividad added, because “small business is the backbone of every economy.” The summit was not attended exclusively by business people. Roughly one third of the attendees consisted of governmental and non-governmental leaders, including 44 female ministers from a host of different countries. “It’s that mix that makes the summit unique,” said Natividad. “I want all these women leaders to be together so they can see who they are – and connect.”