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All the Highlights from the Virtual WILL Summit 2022

On May 19, viewers around the world tuned in for the second, and virtual edition of the WILL Summit. Launched in 2019, the WILL Initiative was established by our publisher Nervora with the support of UN Women and the General Women’s Union, and with the inaugural summit hosted in November 2019 in Abu Dhabi. This year’s event was held in partnership with Mastercard, and hosted by TV anchor and actor Mahira Abdel Aziz.

Over the course of two hours, the four engaging panels featuring influential names sought to achieve the WILL Summit’s aim of highlighting the success stories of women to empower many more. In case you missed it, read on for all the highlights from the event below.

Women in Diplomacy

HE Hend Al Otaiba in conversation with Manuel Arnaut

 

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Speaking to the Vogue Arabia editor-in-chief, the UAE’s first female ambassador to France discussed the representation of women in diplomacy. ”I think we’re making improvements, but I don’t think we’re there yet, unfortunately,” she said. “In a research study, it has been noted that only 20% of women represent ambassadors. The UN has stated that peacekeeping is a lot more successful and has a chance of succeeding by 35% if women are participating. And on the subject of female representation in the UAE, I just want to note that we’ve got nine female ambassadors as well as nine female ministers. Our parliament is also composed of 50% females and we’re very, very proud of this reality.”

Women in Business

Nisreen Shocair, CEO Middle East of Yoox Net-a-Porter Group; Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development, EEMEA, at Mastercard; and Ioanna Angelidaki, co-founder and CMO, InstaShop, with moderator, CEO and founder of Mama Rita, Jessica Kahawaty,

 

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This panel highlighted why it is important that women in this industry believe in themselves and have self-confidence. “I think the whole world is designed by men for men and I think that’s a fact that’s slowly and changing,” remarked Ajmal. ”I just think there’s a lot of pressure on women and it requires a certain amount of risk-taking and courage to shatter these beliefs and think you would carve your own path and you’re going to own it, be happy with it.” Adding a piece of advice, Ajmal said, ”Be more vocal in meetings, be more audible, be more visible”. Angelidaki echoed her statement and said, “I think the first step is looking internally and finding this confidence of standing in front of a firm and believing in yourself that today, I’m raising capital.” Shocair continued to say how the new generation does not have self-doubt of this nature due to their mindset which says, “I deserve this.” Sharing the words she lives by, Shocair added, “My motto is always never stop learning, never stop earning.”

Women in Sports

Yusra Mardini, Syrian refugee, and Olympic swimmer, and Iqra Ismail, the first-ever captain of the Somali Women’s National team and director of women’s football at the Hilltop Women’s Football Club, with moderator, athlete and entrepreneur Tracy Harmoush

 

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Having faced their share of hurdles and challenges, Mardini and Ismail spoke of the power of resilience, and why one must never give up. “It took me a while to accept that being a refugee is not a bad thing,” said Mardini. This was because I feel we have a bit of a wrong perception of what a refugee is and since I was young, I was taught that this is something bad.” She added, “I think one of the most important messages that the Refugee Olympic team sends to the world is that you can create a team from people from all over the world. We do not come from the same country, and we do not have the same religion but we still represent hope to people all around the world.” Ismail went on to discuss how she navigated the male-dominated world of sports as a hijabi Muslim, and said, “As long as you hold onto your faith and your culture and the woman that you’ve been raised to be, then there’s nothing that can stop you from anything you want to do in life.”

Women and the Environment

Susanne Mikhail Eldhagen, UN Women Regional Director for the Arab states, and Dina Storey, Head of Sustainability Operations at Expo 2020 Dubai, with moderator, Beatrice Cornacchia, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications, EEMEA, at Mastercard

 

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The panel shed light on how female progression in Arab countries is driving forward women in STEM and the world’s sustainability efforts. “In this region, there are more female STEM graduates than any other region,” said Eldhagen. “So there’s tremendous potential for women in this region to take upon the vast number of jobs that we open up in the near future and already are open in these areas. My intake for future generations is if you have an education and if you qualify and if you have the capacities, do as much as you can to enter the workforce and contribute to your country.” The conversation also brought up the importance of transparency in sustainable decisions by companies and the importance of organizations taking action to reduce their carbon footprint. “I personally believe that you can’t separate the environmental aspect of sustainability and the social aspect of sustainability from the overall drive to climate change mitigation in any organization, company, and government,” said Storey. “When you talk about sustainable solutions in any form, you have to be able to tailor them to the region. If you want to create cohesive sustainable strategies, you have to be able to collaborate so that you are not fragmented.”

Read Next: 10 of the Most Inspiring Arab Women to Know

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