UN Women’s Susanne Mikhail On Why Female Leaders Make The World A Better Place For Everyone

“When women lead, everyone benefits…”

A life-affirming display of humanity at its best? Proof of gender equality equaling positive change? Look no further than the annual International Women’s Day, writes Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s new columnist, Regional Director of UN Women in the Arab States Susanne Mikhail…

Each year on the 8th of March, International Women’s Day, something extraordinary takes place. People from all walks of life and all parts of the world, come together with one specific goal: gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

I have spent half my professional life in contexts where unity is lacking and fragmentation prevails; in other words, in wars and famines. As a humanitarian, I’ve witnessed the effects of unresolved tensions and inequalities that lead to conflict. In a world pounded by heated rhetoric and polarization, it is remarkable that on International Women’s Day we put aside what divides us, to celebrate what unites us. In many ways, the 8th of March is more than a global call for gender equality, it is a yearly reminder that people from different nations and different religions, holding diverse perspectives, can and want to be united for a common cause. International Women’s Day is humanity at its best.

This year’s celebration focused particularly on women’s leadership in the global COVID-19 recovery effort. There is a wealth of evidence highlighting that when women lead, everyone benefits. In the political field, women are performing remarkably well, whether in parliaments, cabinets, or as heads of State, partly due to their strong ability to find consensus-based solutions. However, the fact remains that globally women’s representation in parliaments remains at a low 21% and on current trends we won’t see gender parity among heads of State before the year 2150.

In the Arab states region, where women have held powerful positions and contributed significantly to their societies since ancient days,  progress has been made to address the gender gap. The UAE is amongst the few countries in the world that have reached the historic milestone of 50% women representation in the national legislature. Egypt now enjoys historic levels of participation by women in parliament thanks to a new quota law. Bahrain saw the election of its first woman Speaker of parliament.  Women constitute more than 30% of all lawyers in Lebanon and Tunisia’s women make up around 45% of all judges, while Kuwait appointed its first cohort of women Judges in 2020.

Multiple studies have shown that private sector firms with more equitable leadership ranks are more profitable and that companies with women in leadership roles are more competitive than their peers. Recognizing the importance of tapping into women’s expertise, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait have all implemented recent legal reforms aimed at improving women’s participation and leadership in the economy, e.g. through access to bank financing on a basis of equality with men. Saudi Arabia has eliminated all previous restrictions on women’s employment in areas once seen as reserved for men, such as construction and mining, opening new career opportunities for women.

Notwithstanding these and many other successes, it in undeniable that the health, economic and social impact of COVID-19 has given an extra sense of urgency to the calls for gender equality, to address the very deep challenges we still face. Gender equality is about equal opportunities to ensure that women lead based on their expertise, merits and qualifications. In essence, it is about common sense. Because gender equality means a more inclusive, thriving and prosperous society for all; girls, boys, women and men. No wonder International Women’s Day united us, across nations, religions and perspectives. No wonder 8th of March saw humanity as its best.

For more information, visit arabstates.unwomen.org; @unwomenarabic and @SusanneUNWomen.

Lead image supplied. From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s April 2021 issue.