Keynote Remarks by Dr. Alyazia Al Kuwaiti

[Music] Alum good afternoon everyone should women be appointed to Executive management roles and boards are we good enough do cotas truly solve the problems of gender disparity or do they risk undermining the principle of meritocracy consistently studies show that diverse leadership teams deliver better financial performance Innovation and decision making yet while significant progress has been made in increasing women presence in leadership across various Industries the finance sector remains a notable exception I still find it a bit masculine after so many years according to gender equality attitude study issued by the United Nation women there's still a persistent social bias and believe that women don't do Finance enough do you believe that I'm delighted we are here today to challenge that outdated notion and to ask what's holding us back there is significant gap between the policies designed by policy makers governments to promote women's representation on Executive corporate roles and the realities is on the ground while intentions with no doubt are commendable the mechanisms needed to make these policies tangible are often lacking this includes challenges in training potential candidates identifying and nominating them for leadership roles and making them visible in in the executive sphere to bridge this Gap we must acknowledge that women are competent and capable we are competent and capable of ascending to leadership roles based on meritocracy and N quotas it's 2024 it's no longer 1995 so women bring adaptive leadership style excelling in navigating complex challenges with resilience empathy and innovative problem solving Merit should always guide these decisions but creating the right environment for women to Showcase their abilities is essential to achieve this we must address critical barriers to women's advancement especially in the finance sector these include in my view in my humble view first tackling unconscious bias stereotypes and many other forms which are embedded within the organization structure secondly actively promoting and sponsorship opportunities to provide women with the guidance and advocacy they need and thirdly creating more flexible and inclusive working environment to accommodate diverse needs and aspirations as a senior imarati executive I'm incredibly proud to be part of a nation that leads the way in supporting women empowerment ranked the first in the Mina region 30th globally by the world economic Forum the UA demonstrates its commitment to female leadership with women comprising 50% of the federal cabinet in UA it's an Evidence it's it's an Evidence to its dedication to gender parity at the highest level I'm equally proud to be part of mubadala as an institution it's one of the leading investment Sovereign wealth funds of Abu Dhabi government where we Champion diversity and inclusion by actively advancing women's careers in traditionally male dominated sectors such as Euros space heavy Industries energy and many more for example Emir Global aluminium which is a joint venture between Abu zabi and Dubai governments broke barriers with women in key roles while strata for example another another subsidary of mua that sits outside ababi in uh working on Advanced material manufacturing Euros space and Aviation had broke a record it has 80% of their Workforce females I was astonished when I paid a visit to strata and is my hometown when I was born I was really exceptionally impressed with women not just only working behind desktops no really qualified Engineers technicians on the ground working with their own hands on day and night shifts so we can have the smoothest experience in um uh flying or an aircraft so well done for them really I was very impressed must also is another example it's an enabler for energy transition and it has been empowering women to shape the future of renewable energy we also play a pivotal role in exporting talents to another UAE based entity esteemed leaders such as their excellencies saram n Ali mea suedi am jab they all began their professional Journeys at mubadala these women have gone to make it to make significant contributions to the UAE development further showcasing madela's commitment to fostering female talent in the UAE I'm very optimistic not just about the future of women in finance but the future of all of us living in this fantastic beautiful safe uh forward-looking country with really uh blessed leadership to Believe in Us and to believe um in in in the future of this country and the world and the goodness of the world a positive shift is underway and I'm confident that this momentum will continue to grow mubadala is standing at the heart of the cab capital of the capital Abu Dhabi plays an important role in this progress Abu Dhabi with bold Ambitions create opportunities for women to lead futuristic sectors and emerging Trends such as artificial intelligence Advanced manufacturing Life Sciences energy transition and many more we don't only drive these sectors but we ensure that women are on the front line of its progress by equipping them to navigate black swans with high impact events that reshape Industries and societies women has been very empowered have been very empowered to um uh act with confidence and resilience and as an example of this mentioned earlier I've been serving I am privileged to be serving on mad's group of invest uh group investment committee where I contribute to critical decision making processes alongside side other remarkable women this reflects our decision and dedication to enabling women to excel at the highest levels of strategic influence the uae's model uh in women empowerment has became a BlueAnt of success for Success inspiring foreign corporations to adopt it today many of these organizations are led by exceptional female leaders further proving the power of this imarati model and now if there is one message I hope to leave you with I would say women in the UAE had achieved so much and crossed so many miles then we then we must continue this this journey and let's work together to melt barriers and empower the next generation of female leaders thank you for your time and for your attention I hope today's discussion Inspire meaningful actions for all of us thank you again oh [Music]