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Lebanon Hosts First All-Female Classic Car Rally

Lebanon has hosted its first ever women-only classic car rally, with female drivers flying in from across the world for the occasion. The 28 drivers in the two-day Rallye des Graces event include women from France, the United Kingdom, China, and Algeria. They set off on Saturday from the Automobile and Touring Club of Lebanon, a seaside club in Kislik, north of Beirut, and are to tour the country, as far east as the Bekaa plain along the border with Syria. Organizer Chahrazad Rizk told AFP she wanted to bring the event to Lebanon after taking part in similar rallies in Switzerland. “The idea is to organize a women’s rally each time in a different Middle Eastern country,” said Isabelle Labrousse, a driver who made her first visit to Lebanon for the occasion. After leaving Kislik, the cars parked briefly under the searing sun at the ancient port of Byblos.…

The Essence of Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards

Despite the mountain of evidence from reputable organizations worldwide demonstrating the return on investment of promoting women to leadership positions, many companies remain in a time warp, continuing to pay lip service to equality and gender diversity. A report, called the Bridging the Gender Gap in Venture Capital, done by Babson College based in Wellesley, MA, found that in venture capital circles, women lose out. The report, released last month, found that only 2.7 percent of the 6,517 companies in the United States that received venture capital funding between 2011 and 2013 were headed by a woman. And those companies only received 3 percent or $1.5-billion of the total $50.8-billion invested during that timeframe. How does one explain the fact that highly educated people who profess to understand the business case for women still don’t get it? My recent encounters with several clients seeking to shift the gender imbalance within…

Call for Adopting Projects of Women with Disabilities

DOHA: Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi, called for the need for communities to adopt and apply all plans and projects that benefit women with special needs, to ease their integration and realize their citizenship through exercising their rights and duties, based on the international conventions related to protecting human rights. Speaking at the Third Doha International Blind Conference “Blind women are partners in building and development of society”, the Minister called on all communities to promote and protect the rights of women with visual disabilities and develop their human, social and economic situation by dealing with them on the basis of their ability to give. In addition, the Minister urged to qualify them in order to be financially independent, which become part of integrating people with visual disabilities into the society, have them participate in the development…

African Union Chair Vows to Fight Discrimination Against Women

Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat vowed to fight discrimination against women. The African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat vowed to fight sexual discrimination against women and called for the Pan African Parliament (PAP) to be given full legislative powers to help address the problems facing the continent. Mahamat made his comments at a press conference, and as PAP’s guest of honour, following the opening ceremony of the Sixth Ordinary Session of PAP’s Fourth Parliament in Midrand on Monday. One of the problems facing the AU is that member states have failed to ratify many of the instruments adopted by the continental organization, according to the chairperson. “Words have to be turned into actions,” said Mahamat. The issue of peace and security was something that also needed to be addressed even though there had been an improvement in the security situation in Africa. “In some…

Ecuadorian Ambassador Commends Free ICT Training Initiative For Women

The outgoing Ambassador for Ecuador in Nigeria, Leopoldo Rovayo has commended the effort of Elbativeni Foundation to provide free Information Communication Technology (ICT) training to 20 ladies in Nigeria for six months. The Ambassador has also lent the full support of the Embassy to the ICT training initiative that empowers Nigerian/African women by developing their skills in digital marketing, apps development, graphics and other technologies. Elbativeni Foundation launched its ICT training program at the last edition of ‘The Generation Next Youth Empowerment Summit’ organized by the Foundation in collaboration with the embassy of Ecuador in Nigeria, the Nigerian Communication’s Commission (NCC), Nanet Hotels and other partners. The Ecuadorian ambassador, who visited with his wife Lucia Rovayo, said: “In 2015 I took the challenge to open a new embassy here and I really have enjoyed working in Nigeria as I have learnt a lot from Nigeria and from Africa. I am…