Manama: Jurors from the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW International) President’s Gold Award said that the award was attributed to Prime Minister Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa in recognition of his outstanding achievements to elevate the status of women in Bahrain.
“Your Prime Minister has done a great job to promote your women’s status, to empower capable women economically, politically and socially,” Annette Lu Hsiu-lien, the former Vice-President of Taiwan, told the media at a conference in the Bahraini capital Manama. “He definitely deserves a Gold Award,” she said as she highlighted the great speed at which women have been able to seize equal rights and opportunities at all levels, economically, politically and socially.
The BPW International President’s Gold Award recognises a male leader who has been instrumental in the empowerment of women, within his sphere of influence.
Princess Fay Jahan Ara, a businesswoman and philanthropist, expressed her appreciation that Prince Khalifa has had “to navigate strong traditions and culture with great sensitivity in order to reach this point of enlightened development, making him a role model on the world stage.” She encouraged all women to educate themselves, in order to continue the trend of increased representation at the highest levels.
“The legacy of behaviour and the way that you are empowered, this is important... leave something behind yourself that your family, your children, they are going to be proud of,” she said in remarks carried by Bahrain News Agency (BNA).
Dr. Dong-Sung Cho, Professor of Strategy at Chueng Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing and head of the committee, highlighted the significance and implications of female empowerment for national competitiveness.
“Women’s empowerment is a decision of the government to deal with women resources,” he said. “Women [have] a kind of sensitivity, a discerning power and sophistication... As a nation becomes more advanced, the products and services need to be more sophisticated, more refined … It is almost impossible for a nation to become an advanced nation without women playing a very important role, not only as a supplier of labour but also as a consumer,” he said on Friday afternoon.
He added that rather than conferring the Gold Award based on absolute levels of performance, it was much more meaningful to consider improvements across a period of time as the main criteria.
In announcing Prince Khalifa as the winner last month, Freda Miriklis, BPW International President, paid tribute to his achievements.
“The BPW International President’s Gold Award acknowledges that to achieve a just and equal status for women, decisions need to be made in true partnership with men, and based on mutual respect,” she said in remarks published on the BPW website. ““HRH Al Khalifa has ensured an increase in the number of women in decision-making roles, including parliament, with the National Action Charter, which is reflected in the constitutional amendments of 2002 and included the right of women to vote. The establishment of The Supreme Council for Women during HRH Al Khalifa’s tenure and their work with the Bahrain’s Economic Development board in producing the number of reports on ‘Women in Bahrain’ is most impressive.
“While there is still so much more to be done, Bahrain is making progress towards the empowerment of women in a way that is inspiring other countries in the Middle East to follow their lead.
“We acknowledge the concerted efforts that the Prime Minister and his team are taking, through implementing the necessary steps for the economic empowerment of women.
“We believe that the economic empowerment of all women is vital to the sustainable success of the global economy at all levels; financial, environmental and social,” she said.
The award will be presented to Prince Khalifa on Sunday.
The International Federation of Business and Professional Women was founded in 1930, and today has affiliates in 95 countries including Bahrain, with consultative status on numerous United Nations bodies and participatory status on the Council of Europe. It advocates the economic empowerment of all women, as vital to the sustainable success of the global economy at all levels; financial, environmental and social.
