In a session at the Qatar Economic Forum, Qatar Foundation CEO Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al-Thani spoke on women in the workplace. 

Vice-Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani stressed on the need to change work systems in order to meet the needs and aspirations of women.

In a session at the Qatar Economic Forum entitled “A Bold Agenda for Female Leadership,” Sheikha Hind said the time has come to alter the work system if it does not allow women to achieve a balance between their professional and family responsibilities.

She added that failure change work frameworks may cause future disruptions in society.

The QF CEO was joined by former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the session, in which the two discussed how the Covid-19 pandemic has had a greater impact on women compared to men.

The session also shed light on the lessons learned from the pandemic on education, and the role of youth in leading global efforts to combat climate change.

Sheikha Hind highlighted the plight of women in the context of the pandemic and how women globally do not have the capabilities they had a year ago to care for their children. This is an indication that the global work framework is flawed by that it does not meet the lifestyle of women, she said.

While this has now been recognised as a long standing issue, the pandemic has only further highlighted and deepened the flaws in the work system.

Read also: Part time or flexible hours? Qatar studies options for working women to maintain family stability

The QF CEO also called on government and non-government organisations, as well as the private sector to consider their roles in changing work systems that do not accommodate to the lifestyles of women.

The existence of widely discussed issues such as the gender pay gap and equality of opportunity means that a solution has not yet been reached.

She noted that the solution lies in accounting for the different roles of women and men.

This is important in order to achieve the flexibility necessary and to realise the importance of women’s participation in the lives of their children, while also being active in the workplace.

Sheikha Hind also made reference to the number of women holding a bachelor’s degree globally as an indication of the active role that they will assume in the labour sector.

Follow Doha News on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube