Bridging the Gap- Women´s Empowerment in the Middle East

There is an exciting transition taking place in the Middle East states (ME): an educated, effective and well connected cadre of empowered women are currently emerging as the acceptable face of Arab modernisation. From Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), to professors, ministers and doctors - Arab women are on the move.Backing these women is not only a human prerogative but makes sense in economic and security terms. "When women get involved," says Nicholas Stern, Chief Economist of the World Bank, "education, health, productivity, credit and governance work better". Indeed, development-indicators of women, such as literacy and low birth rates, are long accepted as the barometer for the well being of a country. This is the chance for the West, in particular, and the rest of the world to reach out and connect with this extraordinary movement. The league of economically empowered women in Europe would have much to gain through strengthened ties with their female counterparts in Arabia. This research project poses the question, who are the women changing the face of the Arab region? How can they maintain the momentum and help empower the next generation of young women as future political and economic leaders for their societies. The project will not only provide original data and analysis, but will pilot and test a practical means by which the women of today can reach out to the women of tomorrow. This framework will take the form of three innovative professional fairs, enabling the national and multinational commercial companies, media outlets and governmental organisations to connect with the young female talent pool. This project will conduct a study in three countries: Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Dubai, to provide a full range of the varied experiences of women in the Arab modernization process.As a starting point, the study will examine the short-fall between the numbers of highly educated women and the number in employment, for it is precisely from these young women that the most social change can be expected.