Launching the first Connecting Women In Technology (CWIT) Event in MENA!

Since joining LinkedIn, I have realised just how passionate I am about creating a diverse and inclusive workplace - as a Talent Acquisition Partner I am at the forefront of shaping my organisation which is something I love being part of. On a broader level any initiative that gives girls and women equal opportunities and empowerment is something I want to support!  

As part of the Women@LinkedIn Committee, I was lucky enough to work with some of the amazing women at Facebook, Dell and Ericsson to launch the first CWIT event within the region. CWIT first started in Dublin with a number of technology companies coming together with the aim of attracting and retaining women into the technology sector.  In MENA, our vision is to drive initiatives that discuss locally relevant topics and encourage and support a culture of innovation. 

We created a CWIT committee and for the last 3 months, we met up weekly to discuss how we can create an event that will have an impact on the women in the region. We decided that the first topic would be around the theme of “Diversity and Inclusion” which is certainly at the forefront of many companies at the moment. We were also keen to include women from both technology and non-technology companies as the issue of gender imbalance is not one that is unique to the technology industry.

The event took place on the 24th May and I was extremely happy with the outcome, not only as one of the event organisers but also as a woman attending the event looking for key takeaways.

Every speaker had something interesting to say but here are some of the messages that had an impact on me:

• Gabriele Metz, Head of Talent Management at Ericsson spoke about the importance of “Women supporting Women” – by supporting and empowering each other we can do incredible things as women.  
• Dave Brooke, Executive Director, Client Solutions at Dell spoke about an excellent initiative at Dell called “MARC” – Men Advocating for Real Change, a community for men committed to achieving gender equality in the workplace. Dave talked about the importance of getting men involved in the conversation when talking about diversity. 
• Amira Rashad, Head of Brand at Facebook discussed how every employee in Facebook undertakes “unconscious bias” training to make them more aware of what their biases are, especially when making hiring decisions. Amira also shared some wonderful personal anecdotes about blending her family life with her work life and vice versa.
• Stefanie Fernandez, Sales Manager at LinkedIn discussed the importance of senior women being role models to other women in the organisation. She herself takes responsibility to empower, mentor and support women across the company (not just her direct reports) and is involved in many activities internally to drive women initiatives.
• Delel Chaabouni, CIO from PepsiCo discussed building an inclusive environment in which diverse talent can thrive in. PepsiCo also have a number of healthy living and flexible arrangements to ensure the well-being of all employees, which can be particularly critical for parents
• Rana Askoul, Founder of Changing Pink spoke of the differences in gender socialisation and from a very early age, many children have certain “female” or “male” traits instilled in them. As we enter the workplace, those traits are challenged and both men and women have to adapt their communication style to successfully work together. 

We had some interesting and thought provoking comments from the audience which was also great to see.

On a professional level, I will definitely be sharing some of the initiatives I learnt about internally and I am lucky to work for a company who believe that creating a diverse and inclusive environment will help both employees and the company thrive.

On a personal level, it’s been inspiring working with and being exposed to other like-minded women in the region - a special shout out to Pascale Comaty, Leena Abdullah, Christine Harb and Eleni Kitra who all worked tirelessly to make this event happen!

I already can’t wait to plan the next event – watch this space! #CWITMENA

If you are interesting in attending future events please join the CWIT MENA LinkedIn and Facebook groups.