CONFERENCE
ACHIEVING WOMEN FORUM
GETTING A SEAT AT THE TABLE Female execs voiced their thoughts on breaking the glass ceiling in the MENA region at the RiiSE Conference: Achieving Women Forum 2019 b y TA M A R A P U P I C
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he second panel discussion at the RiiSE Conference: Achieving Women Forum 2019 saw Roula Jouny, Group Managing Director, FTI Group; Debbie Stanford-Kristiansen, CEO, Novo Cinemas; Dr. Alia Al Serkal, Vice President – People Learning and Growth, du; and Assia Riccio, founder, Evolvin’ Women, voice their opinion on the tools and tactics that women can use to break the glass ceiling in their respective workplaces. Here are a few highlights: 1/ EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE “For me, it has never been about the glass ceiling, but I always say that it’s more about the glass floor, meaning that it’s more about how much confidence and courage you have to take that first step,” Evolvin’ Women’s Assia Riccio said at the forum. “I come from the south of Italy, a community whose social norms have created an image that a woman should only be a mother, so after the first year of my marriage, my parents wondered why I was not pregnant, and the year after, it was already about the questions of which
RiiSE Conference: Achieving Women Forum 2019 Second panel: Breaking the Glass Ceiling
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one of us had a problem. At that moment, for me, it was about how much courage I had to voice my decision not to have children.” Dr. Alia Al Serkal, Vice President – People Learning and Growth, du, echoed this sentiment by saying, “The glass ceiling depends on how one perceives it. Initially, at the beginning of one’s career, you may see it as the glass ceiling. But as you move and progress, and understand how to navigate the work environment, you break that glass ceiling.” The experience of Roula Jouny, Group Managing Direc-
tor, FTI Group, was different. She said, “For me, it has been a journey of breaking through the glass ceiling. First of all, I got married very young, at 19 years old, and after four years of bad marriage, I had to escape with my young son, and had to come to this region, where I started a successful business and raised my son on my own. After 10 years in this region, I went to Europe, where you would have expected that things would have got easier, but then I realized that the UAE had been a blessing for a woman like me when seen in contrast to other countries.” >>>
