Women’s economic empowerment creates resilient businesses: Al-Houti
Kuwaiti companies pursuing a gender-balanced agenda
KUWAIT: Al-Hamra Real Estate Co has a genderneutral approach to recruitment, training, and development and we have many highly qualified women leaders, including C-level executives, who make bold contributions to our business every single day, said Faisal Al-Houti, Chief Executive Officer, Al-Hamra Real Estate Co in an interview. Women’s economic empowerment is also an accelerator of sustainable growth and economic diversification that ultimately creates more resilient economies, he said. Excerpts:
Kuwait Time: Al-Hamra has recently endorsed the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. Why did you sign up and what does this mean for the company?
Faisal Al-Houti: Advancing women economic empowerment is not only the right thing to do, but it brings tremendous benefits to business - higher productivity, profitability, innovation, creativity, and teamwork. It is also an accelerator of sustainable growth and economic diversification that ultimately creates more resilient economies. Let’s not forget the contribution of women as inventors, scientists, politicians, artists, entrepreneurs, but also as consumers and business partners.
We are proud to be among the first companies in Kuwait to have formally committed to pursue a gender-balanced approach in business, provide equal opportunities for men and women to flourish and publicly recognize the immense contribution of women in business and society. As a WEP signatory, Al-Hamra has vowed to adhere to international standards to create an inclusive corporate culture that promotes equality and opportunity for everyone.
KT: How much is Al-Hamra currently doing to accelerate Kuwaiti women economic empowerment?
Al-Houti: Al-Hamra has a gender-neutral approach to recruitment, training, and development and we have many highly qualified women leaders, including C-level executives, who make bold contributions to our business, every single day. Al-Hamra adheres strictly to the Kuwaiti labor law that is very clear on gender equality in the workplace and we commit to taking this further.
We are also proud of our CSR programs on female empowerment. Soon, we will launch an one-of-a-kind edutainment program named ‘Sout Afkari’, aiming at sparking healthy conversations on critical issues regarding young girls - beauty, identity, love, selfworth, talent, power and the workplace to help develop self-confident women. Al-Hamra also sponsors FIKRA, an intensive entrepreneurship training program for aspiring entrepreneurs, including many women. Recently, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, we have also held a voluntary national educational initiative to nurture the skills of middle and secondary level male and female students; giving them the opportunity to learn and excel academically.
KT: What is next in pursuing a gender-balance mindset within Al-Hamra?
Al-Houti: We will be working very closely with United Nations Development Programme, UN Women, General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development, other partners and like-minded organizations to identify best practices and priority areas to bridge any gaps and advance our gender agenda. In this spirit, Al-Hamra also recently attended a three-day capacity building and knowledge exchange workshop organized by the United Nations and Kuwait University on the role of the private sector to achieve Sustainable Goal 5 - a commitment to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. We will then look internally on how to inject the principles within the DNA of our corporate culture and discuss the new business model that will accomplish their empowerment in the workplace, accelerate career opportunities, and ascertain rightful leadership positions.
KT: What do you foresee as the outcome of this commitment?
Al-Houti: Achieving new heights is not new to the country or us. Empowering women, economically and otherwise means unleashing talent and potential that is already available in Kuwait. This would open up opportunities for the Kuwaiti youth, create more private sector jobs and advance the country’s human development, which are paramount to drive competitiveness and productivity. Embracing gender diversity to achieve sustainable economic development will inject dynamism to the economy, which will ultimately fuel business growth. There is also a strong social imperative for women economic empowerment, as successful women serve as powerful role models for Kuwaiti girls, nurturing a generation of inspired girls and boys, who will be the leaders of tomorrow.
KT: Can we expect other major announcements from Al-Hamra in the near future?
Al-Houti: Al-Hamra is constantly evolving, adapting to local and global trends, and always bringing new products, services and perspectives to the market. We continue to inject new thinking into everything we do, which has lead us to witness solid growth from year to year. This is a particularly exciting time for us as we prepare to make major announcements that may be transformational in our industry. You can also expect Al-Hamra to enhance its commitment to our communities through our very dynamic CSR programs, focused mostly around youth. Stay tuned!