HE Sheikh Abdullah delivering a speech on “the changing role of women in supply chain”.
Ooredoo Group chairman HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani has called upon businesses to engage women as both customers and key partners in success.
Delivering a speech on “the changing role of women in the supply chain” at an event on “Gender and the economy” hosted by World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation in Washington DC, recently, Sheikh Abdullah highlighted some of the work being done in emerging markets to address gender inequality in the business sphere and encouraged businesses to engage women as both customers and key partners in their success.
Sheikh Abdullah said: “Achieving women’s participation in the private sector has been an essential aspect of Ooredoo’s business, and I believe it is also a critical driver of growth in economies and societies. From Ooredoo’s recent research among more than 10,500 young adults in some 17 countries across the Middle East and North Africa, we know that 72% of men and 77% of women agree that women should be given equal business opportunities. While this hopefully signifies a generational shift in attitudes about women’s economic empowerment tomorrow, I am calling for every business to engage women as both customers and key partners in success today.”
Ooredoo Group’s chairman also participated in a panel discussion with Cherie Blair, founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, and Beth Comstock, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer at GE.
The panel, which was moderated by Benjamin Skinner, co-founder and senior vice-president of Tau Investment Management, addressed the importance of men’s involvement in the effort to include women in the private sector and the necessary changes for reaching full gender equality in the private sector.
Sheikh Abdullah was recently appointed to the World Bank Group Advisory Council on Gender and Development, a major global body dedicated to promoting gender equality around the world.
As the first for a private sector representative from the Middle East, the chairman’s appointment reflects Ooredoo’s ongoing engagement in women’s empowerment initiatives across its footprint, and also his personal commitment to these issues.
Ooredoo said it supports the development of human growth in all its aspects, with a particular focus on the empowerment of women. This includes a range of initiatives to ensure women can deploy mobile technology to enhance their daily lives because employment can bring gains for women, their families, businesses, and the wider community.
The company has seen strong success for business initiatives, programmes and life-enhancing mobile services focusing on women in the Middle East, North Africa, and South-East Asia.
In Iraq, Asiacell, which is part of Ooredoo, researched women’s needs extensively and designed a breakthrough service offering called Almas Line (diamond) with features matching the needs of Iraqi women for mobile services. Since the launch of Almas Line in April 2011, more than 2mn female customers have been connected to friends and family, becoming more socially and financially independent, thanks to their access to mobile technology.
The proportion of female customers in Asiacell’s customer base has grown from 20% to 40%.
In Qatar, Ooredoo has recently signed a three-year partnership with “How Women Work”, a national community of practitioners that aims to provide information and networking opportunities to empower women, with a particular focus on female entrepreneurs, executives, employees and jobseekers.
