In line with the European Union’s (EU’s) long-standing commitment to women’s economic empowerment worldwide, the EU Delegation to the State of Kuwait recently organised a series of activities on 19 and 20 February aiming at exchanging best practices on how to increase women’s participation in senior leadership roles in the private sector. These activities were organised in cooperation with the Gulf Bank, Boursa Kuwait, Women Research and Studies Center at Kuwait University and Kuwait Women’s Economic Empowerment Platform (KWEEP).

The EU Delegation also held a mentorship workshop for a group of Kuwaiti leading women from various fields to discuss and learn the tools and necessary knowledge to excel in their careers, navigate challenges and achieve success.

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Mrs. Hedwige Nuyens, Chair of the European Women on Boards, an organisation advocating for greater gender diversity on boards, spoke at Gulf Bank’s flagship programme “Lead The Way” about women’s participation in the financial sector and how to ensure greater diversity at senior leadership positions. Mrs. Nuyens also participated in a high-level event hosted at Boursa Kuwait, where she discussed issues such as gender diversity and inclusion, as well as best practices from the EU on environmental, social, and governance criteria in the private sector. The EU also exchanged with co-founders and members of the KWEEP.

Addressing Kuwaiti partners, the EU Ambassador to Kuwait, H.E. Anne Koistinen said: “The European Union is strongly committed to working with all actors of the Kuwaiti society to bolster cooperation on issues related to gender equality and women’s empowerment. This round of events builds on the success of a long list of projects, which we have implemented with our Kuwaiti partners both in the public and private sector, and we look forward to continue exchanging our experiences to further advance a shared objective of women’s economic empowerment both in Kuwait and in Europe.’’

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Dr. Lubna Al-Kazi, Professor at Kuwait University, founder and director of the Women’s Research and Studies Center said: “There has been a successful partnership between the European Union and Kuwait on women’s economic empowerment for the past few years. We have exchanged best practices and received training for Leading Kuwaiti women in the private sector. This is a good example how European Union works jointly with Kuwait’s private sector in achieving Kuwait’s National Development Plan’s objective to increase women in leadership positions.” 

Noura Al-Abdulkareem, Head of Markets Sector at Boursa Kuwait further added: “Committed to advancing women's economic empowerment since its inception, Boursa Kuwait has prioritized financial literacy as a core component of its corporate sustainability strategy. We take pride in organizing events like this, as part of our ongoing efforts to elevate awareness concerning this crucial matter within the Kuwaiti capital market and the broader community. Our sincere gratitude extends to Her Excellency Ms. Anne Koistinen and Ms. Hedwige Nuyens for their invaluable contributions to the success of this enlightening event. We look forward to further collaborations in the future as we continue to champion initiatives that align with our commitment to foster a long-lasting positive change.”

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“As we continue our journey towards fostering diversity, inclusion, and women leadership, we were honoured at Gulf Bank to have Mrs. Nuyens as a guest speaker in our “Lead the Way” Podcast under the title: “Own Your Career”. During the Podcast, Mrs. Nuyens shared her valuable experiences with our female emerging leaders. We are a firm believer in the power of sharing inspiring stories to derive the future for women’s empowerment in Kuwait.  At Gulf Bank, we remain dedicated to fostering diversity within our workforce, particularly in support of women's leadership at the executive management and C-suite”, added Ms. Salma AlHajjaj, General Manager- Human Resources- Gulf Bank.

Following the “Lead the Way” podcast, Gulf Bank hosted a networking lunch for the Kuwait Women Economic Empowerment Platform (KWEEP) founding members dedicated to welcoming HE Ms. Anne Koistinen, Ambassador of the European Union to the State of Kuwait and Mrs. Hedwige Nuyens. “The networking lunch created a great opportunity to exchange experiences and explore opportunities on various aspects related to women’s empowerment in the private sector and creating an inclusive and diverse professional landscape in Kuwait.” Ms. Alhajjaj concluded.   

These series of engagements build on a familiarisation trip of 12 Kuwaiti leading women to Brussels for open exchanges with key European institutions, European women leaders and advocates that took place in September 2023.