Dubai: Two UAE nationals have just been named among this year’s ten most powerful businesswomen in the Arab world.
The latest edition of Forbes Middle East’s 100 Most Powerful Arab Businesswomen list has ranked Raja Easa Al Gurg and Fatima Al Jaber as the region’s third and fourth most powerful women in business. Raja is the managing director of Al Gurg Group, while Fatima is the group CEO of Al Jaber Group.
The rest of the top ten list is comprised of women from Bahrain, Morocco, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Overall, Lubna Olayan, CEO of Olayan Financing from Saudi Arabia topped the list, followed by Lobna Helal, deputy governor of Central Bank of Egypt, in the second place.
Rounding up the top ten list are Shaikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, head of Qatar Museums in the fifth place; Maha Al Ghunaim, vice chair and group CEO of Global Investment House in Kuwait; Shaikha Al Bahar, deputy group CEO of NBK in Kuwait; Mona Almoayyed, managing director of YK Almoayyed and Sons in Bahrain; Nezha Hayat, chair of Moroccan Capital Market Authority in Morocco and Khawla al-Asadi, director general of Rafidain Bank in Iraq.
A total of 17 UAE women in the business category made it to the top 100 list. Forbes also ranked the Arab women in government as well as those who head up their family businesses. Most of the entrants are from Egypt, followed by UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan.
The list highlights the fact that despite the gender disparity in the workplace, women can still stand out and make a difference.
"It is a well-known fact that a diverse workforce strengthens an organisation by fostering innovation and creativity in work. Yet, there are still a handful of women in top echelons of management," Forbes said in a statement sent to Gulf News.
"To promote women, a company should set goals to help them gain broader experience, provide sponsorships, create opportunities and not hold back working mothers. Mostly, there should be commitment from the top management."
Khuloud Al Omian, editor in chief of Forbes Middle East, noted that there has been a constant increase in women holding senior level positions in businesses.
“This is contrary to the popular perception about Arab women in the business world. Such recognition will further boost encouragement and inspire more women to break the norm and achieve great successes in their line of business,” Al Omian said.
The ranking of Arab women in business was based on the size of the company, position and job role and "sphere of impact."
