International Data Corporation (IDC) today hosted the inaugural edition of its Women Transforming Technology Summit for the Middle East. Moreover, Qatar Living is proud to be the official media partner for this major event.

Hosted on the global technology research and consulting firm's industry-leading virtual platform, the event attracted over 1,500 participants and hosted more than 70 internationally and regionally renowned speakers, with Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Majid Al Qasimi, chairperson of the Sharjah Business Women Council, and Ahmad Al Hanandeh, Jordan's Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, presenting honorary keynotes. 

Running under the theme 'Educate, Engage, and Empower', IDC's Women Transforming Technology Summit 2021 sought to celebrate the growing role that women are playing in advancing the Middle East's technology landscape.

The significance of this effort was underscored by the number of professional associations that came together from across the region to actively support the hosting of this groundbreaking event, including:

• Business & Professional Women – Amman (BPW-A)
• The Kuwait Economic Society
• The Lebanese League for Women in Business
• Women in Cyber Security Middle East (WiCSME)
• Women in AI – Middle East
• The UAE Banks Federation
• The Emirates Digital Association for Women
• The Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC)
• Women In Tech Dubai
• The Sharjah Business Women Council (SBWC)

With a focus on enabling digital transformation (DX) and business growth through diversity and inclusion (D&I), the event provided an unrivaled opportunity for knowledge sharing and networking among participants, showcasing insights from the region's most inspirational female tech pioneers as they detailed their own journeys and the invaluable contributions they have made to the success of their organizations.

"Across the region, more and more women are assuming leadership positions in the technology industry with great success, confirming the belief that diverse organizations perform better, hire better talent, have more engaged employees, and retain workers better than those that do not focus on D&I," says Jyoti Lalchandani, IDC's group vice president and managing director for the META region. "At IDC, we are committed to setting new benchmarks for the industry, and we have been overwhelmed by the support we have received in our quest to accelerate the implementation of D&I best practices across the region."

To this end, Lalchandani chaired a CEO panel titled 'A View of D&I Strategy from the Top'. Featuring insights from Rola Abu Manneh, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank in the UAE, Dr. Saeeda Jaffar, senior vice president and group country manager for the GCC at Visa, and Dr. Raghavan Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank, the panelists highlighted the importance of employee experience measures, outlined structured ways to report and measure D&I performance, and explained how leading organizations are implementing diverse recruitment and retention goals.

The agenda also included a panel discussion titled 'DX Strengthened Through Diversity in the Workplace', which included the thoughts of Dr. Mudhi Aljamea, vice president of Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and dean of the STC Academy, Auriel E. Rawlings, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisor for the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa at FedEx Express, and Dina Amin, head of marketing at Google Cloud. Chaired by Nagia El-Emary, IDC's country director for Egypt and senior consultant for the MEA region, the discussion focused on the need for organizations to view diversity in the workplace not just as a compliance issue, but as a key driver of DX and business growth.

Another notable highlight of the event was the dedicated Masterclass Arena. Incorporating a wide range of CXO best-practice presentations, fireside chats, and panel discussions, this section of the virtual platform played host to more than 50 respected thought leaders from across the region and around the world as they shared insights into the successful DX and D&I strategies they have applied within their own organizations.

To learn more about IDC's Women Transforming Technology Summit 2021, please contact Sheila Manek at smanek@idc.com or on +971 4 446 3154. You can also join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #IDCWTTS.

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