Boosting Women’s Participation in the Labor Force
imf seminars event
DATE: October 8, 2014
DAY: Wednesday
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
LOCATION: George Washington University, Lisner Auditorium
Overview
Over the past few decades, most regions in the world have posted remarkable improvements in social and development indicators pertaining to women. Still, women’s access to economic opportunity and participation in productive work is low and has remained stagnant. This seminar will explore concrete steps that can be taken for the greater integration of women into the labor force. It will bring together expertise from around the world with speakers from different perspectives, from academics to entrepreneurs to policymakers.Recommended Reading >
Boosting Women’s Participation in the Labor Force
Panelists
Moderator: Mina Al-Oraibi
Mina Al-Oraibi is the Assistant Editor in Chief of Asharq Alawsat, the international pan-Arab daily newspaper. She was Washington DC Bureau Chief for Asharq Alawsat until November 2011. Al-Oraibi often has assignments in the Middle East, Europe and the United States. Al-Oraibi is a member of the Global Agenda Council on the Middle East; the World Economic Forum named her a Young Global Leader. She is a Special Advisor for Global Dignity. An Iraqi-Briton, Al-Oraibi was born in Sweden and raised in Iraq, Australia and Saudi Arabia,before moving to the United Kingdom.
Azeema Adam
Dr. Azeema Adam was appointed as the Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) in April 2014, and she is the first woman to hold the position. She joined MMA in 1991as a junior officer and has worked herself through the ranks over the years. She holds an MSc in International Development and Finance from University of Leicester, UK, and PhD in Economics from the University of Canberra, Australia. Her PhD research was on the area of exchange rate issues in the Maldives, and her research interests include exchange rate, public finance and tourism economics. She is married with two children aged 9 and 12.
Sarah Iqbal
Sarah Iqbal manages the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law project, examining how the legal environment affects women's employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. She also provides guidance on the intersection of the law and women’s economic activities in areas such as financial inclusion. Ms. Iqbal holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, an MA from Johns Hopkins University, and a JD from the University of California, Hastings, and is a member of the California Bar.
May Habib
May Habib is co-founder and CEO of Qordoba, a multilingual content management technology company with offices in Dubai, Frankfurt, and San Francisco. Qordoba has won numerous growth and innovation awards and Habib has been the recipient of the Young CEO of the Year Award from Arabian Business magazine and named to the Top 30 Under 30 business leaders list. Qordoba’s growth record earned it a spot on the Arabia Fast Growth 500 list for 2013 and 2014, beating out hundreds of other fast-growing companies. Habib graduated magna cum laude from Harvard.
Kathy Matsui
Goldman Sachs Japan, Partner, Chief Japan equity strategist, Co-head of Asia Macro Research. She has been ranked #1 by Institutional Investor magazine multiple times, and selected by the Wall Street Journal as one of the "10 Women to Watch in Asia" for her work on "Womenomics.” Kathy is a board member of the Asian University for Women (AUW) Support Foundation and earned an AB from Harvard University and an MA from Johns Hopkins University-School of Advanced International Studies.
Ambassador Melanne Verveer
Ambassador Melanne Verveer is the Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She is the founding partner of Seneca Point Global. Amb. Verveer recently served as the first U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues. She previously served as the Chair and Co-CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership. During the Clinton Administration, she served as Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady. Amb. Verveer holds a B.S. and M.S. from Georgetown University.