Countries in the Mena region sent fewer women delegates to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual gathering in Davos of the rich and powerful than most other nations.
Just 6 per cent of Mena participants making the trip from the region to the Swiss alpine retreat are women.
Of the 28 delegates from the UAE, only one is female. Globally, average female participation is more than 16 per cent.
"[The Mena figure] reflects low participation of females in the Arab world's labour market," said Soraya Salti, one of the few Arab women participants and the regional senior vice president of Injaz Al-Arab, a business mentoring initiative based in Jordan.
"Government is one of the main employers for women in our region yet the private sector is the main focus of WEF."
Criticism has emerged from some quarters internationally about the lack of female influence at the event.
Increasing the number of women participating at the annual WEF has been an important priority for organisers in recent years.
The Geneva-based not-for-profit organisation is keen to become more inclusive as it discusses some of the big challenges facing the global economy.
It has achieved some success. The proportion of women delegates has grown from about 9 per cent in 2001 to this year's figure of about 16 per cent.
Among the powerful women at Davos this year are the German chancellor Angela Merkel, the French finance minister Christine Lagarde, and Anne Lauvergeon, the chief executive of Areva.
From the region, Dr Muhadditha al Hashimi, the acting chief executive of Tatweer, a unit of Dubai Holding, is the only woman attending from the UAE.
Other attendees include Lubna Olayan, the deputy chairwoman and chief executive of Olayan Financing Company in Saudi Arabia, and Suzan Salman Kanoo, the president of the International Motor Trading Agency in Bahrain.
Most women who work in the Mena region opt for jobs in the public sector.
"This is a structural issue and needs to be rectified," Ms Salti said. "When women go into the private sector they face a lot of discrimination."
One of the ways the forum has tried to boost female uptake is by setting gender quotas for its strategic partners, which are mainly businesses.
Since last year, it has required them to select at least one female executive among the five delegates they send. As a result, over 80 per cent of the partners are bringing females, up from about a third last year.
Of the partners regionally, Dr al Hashimi is Dubai Holding's female representative.
But another regional WEF partner, Abraaj Capital, has no female representative at the forum.
The WEF's community of Young Global Leaders is closer to gender parity, with women accounting for 40 per cent of its delegates.
"Whatever conventional wisdom people may have about women in the region does not apply to female young global leaders," said Pawan Patil, a young global leader who is the chief economist at Silatech, a job creation enterprise based in Qatar.
"These women are more outspoken, smarter than and more capable than any of us men that are their peers in this community," Mr Patil said.
tarnold@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now