The NYUAD Institute Event “Women’s Advancement in the UAE: Strategies for Success” received a warm welcome from men and women, Emiratis and expats alike at the Intercontinental Hotel on Monday, April 29. The conversation was a continuation of a series of panels, held between experts from the Gulf, as well as abroad, about the advancement of women’s rights, education, leadership and civic engagement in the Emirates.

May Dabbagh, who is soon to be a professor at NYUAD in Spring 2014, hosted the discussion, introduced the speakers and contextualized the debate. Dabbagh, who previously headed the Women and Public Policy program at the Dubai School of Government, focused the debate on the development of women and leadership in the UAE and the Gulf, especially in light of the tremendous changes taking place in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Women’s rights and engagement have been both promoted and attacked during the Arab Spring, Dabbagh explained. Women’s roles in public spaces has become a hot topic amongst not only academics, but also governments and families.

Dabbagh gave an example of the role of women in the discussions surrounding the Egyptian revolution and transition to democracy. A thread she received shortly after the revolution posed the following quandary: there are two Egyptian men who are considering which presidential nominee to vote for in the elections. One man says, “If you pick your candidate, then your mother will be forced to wear a niqab [a face veil].” The other man then says, “Well, if you chose your candidate your mother will be forced to take off her hijab.” The first man then says, “Isn’t there a candidate that will just leave my mother alone?”

The Arab Spring has certainly sparked many issues surrounding women’s roles in the public and private sector. Panelist Dr. Nawal Al Hosani, Director of Sustainability at Masdar, stressed the many opportunities that the UAE presented for women.

“The UAE is the only country that I know of that opened the first women’s university the same year [1971] that the country was founded,” she said.

The focus on the role of women in government, education and the private sector has only been fostered as the years go by, she explained. However, in the sciences and technology, there need to be more women involved.

“Women have an equal role in sustainability,” she said.

Sheikh Hussein A. Al-Banawi, CEO of the Banawi Industrial Group and author of the book, “The Unknown Leader,” focusing on the development of leadership in the Gulf post-Arab Spring, stressed the importance of an equal ratio of women and men in all levels of business. It is imperative, he argued, that women are on boards and part of the decision-making process. It is only through the advancement of women in one’s business that there can be a true advancement of the company.

Panelist Shamma Al Jaberi, a leader in women’s advocacy in the General Secretariat of the Executive Council, stressed the importance of building self-confidence in young women in the UAE. Paralleling Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg’s book, “Lean In,” which caused a lot of stir in American feminist circles, Al Jaberi was adequately harsh on her fellow Emirati women. She argued that it is important not to settle with a comfortable job in Human Resources, which is where most Emirati women work. It is necessary for Emirati women to push themselves more, to gain the self-confidence and the drive to be sitting on the board of international corporations as well as work in the government, according to Al Jaberi.

“Men believe they are born to be board members,” Al Hosani said. “Women believe they must be trained to be board members. This must change.”

Al Jaberi added that it is necessary to develop a strategy unique to the UAE and its social and cultural context to promote women’s empowerment. Mentorship of young women could be a way to lead young women to be more ambitious and to find higher skilled jobs after they graduate from university. That being said, it is important that mentors are chosen carefully and that they make it a priority to pose and facilitate difficult questions in order to push young Emiratis to think outside of the box.

An audience member and Professor at Zayed University was confident that progress could be seen every year in his classroom. Dabbagh agreed that it is evident that the drive to empower women is already instilled in the young generation of Emirati university students, but maintained that it needs to be allowed to flourish institutionally. For that, Dabbagh insisted, it is necessary that institutions begin to attract and inspire male and female talent equitably.

Al-Banawi and Al Hosani alike pointed at the need to find talent regardless of gender. The important skills to foster in young men and women, according to them, were empathy, intelligence and passion.

“Leadership is listening with your mind, not your eyes. The mind knows no gender,” concluded Al-Banawi.