Dubai: The Women’s Economic Empowerment Global Summit (WEEGS) begins in Sharjah on Monday,
Held from December 4-5 at Expo Centre Sharjah, the event is expected to cover the issue of “gender-responsive procurement,” and the matter of increasing women’s participation in economic development.
According to a statement from the event’s organisers, Sharjah’s Nama Women Advancement Establishment (Nama), the gathering will also tackle other issues that hinder the enabling of gender parity across workforces and communities.
“United Nations [UN] Women has partnered with Nama for the Women’s Economic Empowerment Global Summit (WEEGS) to support women and create equal opportunities for them in local, regional as well as global value chains,” Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women said in a written statement to Gulf News.
The aim of the summit is to “propel ongoing efforts on women’s economic empowerment, one of UN Women’s key priorities and an integral part of the globally agreed Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs],” Mlambo-Ngcuka said.
According to Nama, the event will be attended by international experts on women’s rights and empowerment, gender equality advocates, governmental, and private sector representatives, academics, thought leaders and successful women entrepreneurs.
Major impediment
The organisers say that they hope the summit produces an increased energy and commitment in the region to promoting women’s safe, fair and productive economic empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.
On the subject of sexual harassment, an issue for many women that is currently dominating the headlines, Mlambo-Ngcuka said: “Sexual harassment in the workplace is a major impediment to women’s success in industries in which they are underrepresented, especially science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).”
“We are seeing women’s and girls’ accounts of sexual harassment reverberate throughout the media through viral movements like #MeToo. These stories told by women and girls from all walks of life brought to light the magnitude of a problem that had been hidden for too long,” she added.
