American University of Beirut

SAWI REGIONAL ROADMAP FOR WORKPLACE INCLUSION

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The Center for Inclusive Business and Leadership (CIBL) for Women at the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business (OSB) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) held a closing online event of the SAWI ​Project (Support and Accelerate Women's Inclusion), to mark the progress to date on the Women’s Economic Empowerment Project – The SAWI Project, funded by the Middle East Partnership Initiative at the U.S. Department of State.​

Women’s economic participation rates in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) continue to be the lowest across the world. Efforts to augment formal, dignified work opportunities in the region are crucial, and our experience over the last two years has revealed positive momentum in this regard. Working closely with our partners across eight countries and four sectors have provided ample evidence that ​change toward more inclusive human resource policies and practices is possible when we work together.


A multi-stakeholder, multi-country, multi-sector work took place to celebrate the launching of the:

SAWI REGIONAL ROADMAP FOR WORKPLACE INCLUSION
ONLINE EVENT

When: May 31st, 2022 | 3:00 – 6:30 p.m. (Beirut Time) or 8:00 – 11:30 a.m. (EST)
Where: Online ZOOM event

The SAWI event officially launched the network of trailblazing employers who have been drafting and adopting more inclusive policies for the recruitment, retention, and promotion of women in MENA workplaces. We showcased the accomplishments by SAWI partners across the 8 countries.​ Around 500 attendees from around the globe joined the conversation to learn more about the network, and to take action for inclusive human resource systems in the region.

SAWI is a milestone project by CIBL for Women to Support and Accelerate Women’s Inclusion in eight countries (Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia). SAWI has partnered with employers in the sectors of healthcare, education, STEM, and banking for women’s inclusion. SAWI was made possible by generous funding from the US State Department’s MEPI program, and in partnership with our regional team: Apotheox, BPWA, Democracy for All, Economia HEM, LLWB, Warsha and WEOIraq.


Here is a glimpse of reach and impact from 2020 - 2021:


FORMAT OF THE EVENT
The event was held online via the zoom platform and was livestreamed on CIBL for Women Facebook page​.​

LANGUAGE OF THE EVENT
English with simultaneous interpretation to Arabic and French.

WHO ​JOINED?
The SAWI event was open to the public and brought together representatives from our country partners, the network of pioneer employers who have joined our efforts, and inclusion focal points. 

WHAT WAS DISCUSSED? AGENDA -​
1) The role of business schools in accelerating women's inclusion
2) CIBL leading structural change in the region
3) Creating Knowledge to address the data deficit
4) Participatory action and policy change amidst crises
5) CIBL roadmap for inclusive policies
6) Gender-lens investing: finance for social change
7) Inclusive policies as mechanisms for achieving ESG 
8) Anchored in OSB and MENA but with an eye on the world​





SPEAKERS
​​
Dean, Princeton School of Public
and International Affairs,
Princeton University
United States of America


Dean, Suliman S. Olayan School of
Business, OSB, AUB
Lebanon


Vice-president, Université Hassan II Aïn
Chock de Casablanca
Morocco



Director of CIBL for Women
CIBL Founding Member
Principal Investigator, SAWI Project
Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development
American University of Beirut (AUB), Suliman S. Olayan School of Business (OSB)
Tenured Associate Professor of Management Science
Lebanon


Dean, Telfer School of Management,
University of Ottawa
Canada



Director of International Partnership at CIBL for Women
Immediate Past CIBL Founding Director
Principal Investigator, SAWI Project
Ian Telfer Professorship in Inclusive Human Resource Systems, Telfer School of Management
Director of Executive MBA, University of Ottawa
Canada

Regional Manager, CIBL for Women,
AUB, OSB
Lebanon


Executive Director, Business and
Professional Women Association, BPWA
Jordan​


Founder, Apotheox Business Services
Algeria


Professor at University Mohammed V
Rabat (Morocco) and Research Affiliate at
Economia, HEM Research Center
Morocco


Deputy Director of Knowledge
Management and Research, CIBL for
Women and Scholar at the Institute for
Women, Peace and Security, School of
Foreign Services, Georgetown University
United States of America


Axelle Meouchy
Research Associate /Curriculum Coordinator,
CIBL for Women
Lebanon 


Research Associate, CIBL for Women
Lebanon
Founder, Warsha Consultancy and Development
Bahrain


Project Manager, Lebanese League for
Women in Business, LLWB
Lebanon

Executive Director, Democracy for All,
Deputy, National Constituent Assembly,
Pan African Parliament
Tunisia


Director of the Investment Management
Program at OSB, Associate Professor of
Finance, and CIBL Founding member,
AUB, OSB
Lebanon


Vice President
Blackrock, Inc, NYC
United States of America


Advisory Board Member
CIBL for Women
United Arab Emirates


Communication and HSE manager
Holcim
Lebanon


Associate Professor of Public
Administration and Leadership, OSB,
Founding member and Director of
Communications, CIBL for Women,
FAS, AUB
Spain


Associate Professor of Work &
Organizational Psychology, AUB, Arab
Fund Distinguished Scholar 2020, Visiting
Researcher Aalto University
Finland


Founder of Bright Blu Dot
ESG consultant
Finland


Tenured Associate Professor of Human
Resource Management OSB, Associate
Provost at AUB, Founding member, CIBL
for Women, AUB, OSB
Lebanon



Interested in contributing to inclusive policies and dignified work for women? You too can Support and Accelerate Women's Inclusion (SAWI). Sign up​ and join the growing network by filling this form and sending it to cibl@aub.edu.lb. We will get back in touch and together grow this movement. Now is the time.


Contact Us

For various questions, please try contacting us via social media first!
read more

Privacy Statement

We take data privacy seriously and adhere to all applicable data privacy laws and regulations.
read more

Copyright and Disclaimer

Written permission is needed to copy or disseminate all or part of the materials on the AUB website.
read more

Title IX, Non-Discrimination, and Anti-Discriminatory Harassment

AUB is committed to providing a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment to all members of its community.
read more