Georgetown University in Qatar Students Host Pioneering Future is Female Conference

Press release

Published April 4th, 2018 - 08:26 GMT

The Future is Female club seeks to address the disparity between women’s education levels and their participation in the labor force in Qatar.

Female industry leaders in Qatar shared their stories at a recent conference at Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q). Organized by student club The Future is Female, the conference aimed to inspire the next generation of women to assume prominent roles in the workforce and public sphere.

The Future is Female club seeks to address the disparity between women’s education levels and their participation in the labor force in Qatar. It aims to increase the involvement of women by providing mentorship, workshops, and networking opportunities that encourage and ease their transition into the workplace.

“We saw that there was a paradox between women’s education in Qatar and their labor force participation; women held two thirds of bachelor’s degrees yet constituted a third of the labor force, although their numbers are increasing,” explained Asma Al-Jehani (SFS’19), founder of The Future is Female club. “We also wanted to provide a forum for women to discuss issues about gender and society, and to meet other women with the same mindset.”

The Future is Female conference, held under the theme ‘Shattering the Glass Ceiling: Female Visionaries in the Workforce’, featured a keynote speech by Dr. Amal Al-Malki, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. This was followed by panel discussion featuring Machaille Al-Naemi, president of community development at Qatar Foundation; Nourah Al Sulaiman, course administrator at IMF Kuwait; Fatma Al Sahlawi, founder of Atlas Bookstore; and Azza Salah, founder and CEO of Skyclimbers Qatar.

“We hope attendees will learn more about the challenges women face in the labor force and how to overcome them,” said Al-Jehani. “Furthermore, we hope to provide a platform for everyone to connect and create a space for women to discuss these challenges.”

The conference also showcased the results of two months of recent workshops offered by the Future is Female club, which have been held on topics including negotiation skills, computer science, writing, and art.

Background Information

Georgetown University in Qatar

Established in 1789 in Washington, DC, Georgetown University is one of the world’s leading academic and research institutions. Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q), founded in 2005 in partnership with Qatar Foundation, seeks to build upon the world-class reputation of the university through education, research, and service. Inspired by the university’s mission of promoting intellectual, ethical, and spiritual understanding, GU-Q aims to advance knowledge and provide students and the community with a holistic educational experience that produces global citizens committed to the service of humankind.

Located in Doha’s Education City, GU-Q offers the same internationally recognized Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree as Georgetown’s Capitol Campus in Washington, DC. This unique, interdisciplinary program prepares students to tackle the most important and pressing global issues by helping them develop critical thinking, analytic, and communication skills within an international context. GU-Q alumni work in leading local and international organizations across industries ranging from finance to energy, education, and media. The Qatar campus also serves as a residency and delivery location for the Executive Master’s in Emergency and Disaster Management along with the Executive Master’s in Leadership.