Emirati women developing and advancing the nation

Technology

06 Sep 2017

Emirati women have been guided by success factors set by the UAE leadership and have strived with strong will to achieve excellence and become an essential and important part of the nation’s development.

Homaid Al Shimmari Deputy Group CEO & Chief Human Capital & Corporate Officer.

(Edited extract from interview in Al Ittihad: Strength of will of Emirati Woman is behind her excellence in vital areas, dated 27 August, 2016)
In an interview with Al-Ittihad, Homaid Al Shimmari, Deputy Group CEO & Chief Human Capital & Corporate Officer, spoke about some of the success factors for Emirati women, which include the changing views of students, especially females, towards the promising job opportunities that are now being offered equally to the UAE people. Both male and female students have the required scientific degrees, but in terms of numbers, females have more.

“From the beginning, we realized that diversification and development of economy is not only about new industries. Today, everybody realizes that the UAE women must play a big role, especially since the number of qualified women has become large and nobody can ignore it, and entities are aware of this situation, whether in the government or semi-government or even in the private sector”.

Mr. Al Shimmari believes that the secret of women's success is that since the inception of the UAE, the leadership believed that man and woman are equal whether in terms of education, work, treatment or having a decent life.

Therefore, all the requirements for success are available to them. Due to the nature of our society, woman have a greater opportunity to focus on study, achieve high levels of education and select specific disciplines such as engineering and management in line with UAE 2021 Vision and Abu Dhabi 2030 Economic Plan.

He added that all these factors created a strong motivation for women, which is the secret behind their success that we see today.

Today we have women ministers, parliamentarians, physicians in subspecialties and others working in nuclear energy and aerospace sectors. We have female pilots who runs fighter jets and share their brothers in defending their country.

Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany Executive Director of Sustainability and Brand, Masdar

A renowned advocate for sustainability, Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany’s career spans business and academia, both in the UAE and internationally. Her role at Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, involves overseeing four departments: Sustainability; Marketing and Communications; Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and Special Projects; and since 2012, she has been Director of the UAE’s annual global awards for renewable energy and sustainability, the Zayed Future Energy Prize.

A renowned advocate for sustainability, Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany’s career spans business and academia, both in the UAE and internationally. Her role at Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, involves overseeing four departments: Sustainability; Marketing and Communications; Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and Special Projects; and since 2012, she has been Director of the UAE’s annual global awards for renewable energy and sustainability, the Zayed Future Energy Prize.

In February 2017, Dr Al-Hosany was appointed to the newly established Board of Trustees of Khalifa University of Science and Technology. She is also a Board Member of the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre Project Committee at the University of Manchester, UK.

Dr Al-Hosany believes passionately in the leading role that women can play in responding to global sustainability and climate change challenges. She has been programme director of the UAE-led Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy (WiSER) initiative since its formation in 2015, providing a platform for dialogue and empowerment of women across the world.

Sophie Khalid Al Bustani Vice President, Information Communications Technology (ICT)

During her time at Mubadala Investment Company, Sophie has focused on high tech investments. In 2011, Sophie joined the Technology, Manufacturing and Mining platform, driving strategic projects for Mubadala’s semiconductor manufacturing asset (GLOBALFOUNDRIES) in Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Germany and the USA. She later became the asset manager of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

Sophie’s most recent work has focused on screening potential investment opportunities across a wide range of technology sectors. In 2017, she transferred to the Aerospace, Renewables & ICT platform to continue to pursue her passion for technology.

Dina Beljaflah Vice President, CEO Office
Aerospace, Renewables & ICT

Dina is heading the Corporate Performance Management System (CPMS) and is leading the effort of on-boarding assets into the CPMS. She represents the Aerospace, Renewables & ICT platform on areas such as Business Continuity and mWrap – an internal mentoring program. Dina is also a board member of Al Orix Finance PSC and was elected as Vice Chairman, appointed by H.H. Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Since 2005, she has been a four-time board member and Vice President of the UAE Business Woman Council (Federal Chamber of Commerce). Dina was a conception board member of the Royati Family Society, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Additionally, she has been a member of the board and Vice President of the Women in Aviation Middle East Chapter.

Dina has held diplomatic roles representing the UAE at the World Trade Organization as the Business Attaché-Ministry Of Economy-Government of UAE.

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