New crop of female leaders
Project empowers women farmers by developing their leadership skills
DUBAI // Female Arab scientists have completed a pilot phase of an agricultural project aimed at empowering them and furthering their careers. Nine women from the Middle East and North Africa were chosen for Tamkeen – the Young Arab Women Scientists Leadership programme. “One of the main things I learnt from this pilot project was self-control,” said Dr Henda Al Mahmoudi, a Tunisian biotechnologist at the centre.
“Sometimes you focus on research, but you forget about leadership skills. This is very important and we think we have these skills but we don’t, until we really get to discover our potential and how to use it.” The programme is run by the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture in Dubai, and was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It aims to increase the representation of female farmers in the Middle East.
“It’s vital to have such skills in agriculturural science because we’re all leaders within small groups and we always work with people, so this helps in working more efficiently,” Dr Al Mahmoudi said. “We need awareness for women because they have the potential, but they are not using it in the right way. There are great scientists in the region, but they’re afraid to lead – maybe due to their culture or education. “We need to be encouraged through such training and workshops. It’s one of many steps.” The women were taught how to put together a team, influence their performance, manage conflict and how to become more assertive.
“The design of the programme includes soft skills and scientific skills,” said Dr Ismahane Elouafi, director general of the centre.
“We realised that the leadership side is the biggest gap women feel is stopping them moving forward in their careers.” Women from the UAE, Oman, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco attended the five-day programme.
“Most young ladies we received were very highly qualified on the scientific side, but had very few opportunities to get to the soft side of it,” Dr Elouafi said.
“Assertiveness is an important criterion that you have to understand how to use without coming across as unprofessional.” Women made up 45 per cent of the workforce in the Middle East’s agriculture sector in 2011, up from 34 per cent in 1995. Al- though more are joining agriculture sciences in regional universities, greater effort is needed. “When it comes to the workforce, they disappear,” Dr Elouafi said. “We provide them with the know-how, but not the conducive environment to blossom. It’s the nature of our environment and they don’t have skills to go up the career ladder.”
The next step will be to formally launch the programme across countries in the region, and Tamkeen is looking for partners.
“Leading, thinking positively and using emotional intelligence were key for me,” Azima Al Muselhi, 31, who works at the ministry of water resources in Oman, said.
“It’s important because we don’t have many women in the field nor in leadership roles. We really need this in the Gulf.”
Tamkeen will be officially launched in Astana, Kazakhstan, in October, after which women will be able to apply. For details, visit www.biosaline.org.