Only 22% of the Lebanese workforce is women, & coaching is a key element to women’s integration in technology and business

Endeavor hosted a media round table at its Beirut offices, on October 2nd, that tackled the situation of women’s entrepreneurship and the impact of their work on the Lebanese economy, considering that women’s participation in the workforce is a mere 22%. Endeavor pointed out that this low percentage is largely due to the preoccupation of women with household chores and raising children, noting that many women leave their jobs after marriage, and that stating that single working women represents 68% of their total whereas the corresponding figure for single working men is only 51%.
The round table also emphasised the importance of coaching, particularly for women working in technology or business, although the concept of coaching is some what new for Lebanese society.
Nibal Edelbi, chief of Information and Communications Technology Applications Division at ESCWA and head of the Digital Arabic Content Initiative, said that studies have shown that women are almost “nonexistent” in the ICT sector, hence the need to encourage and train women to compete more, pointing out to the advantage of working from home as one possible encouraging factor to attract women into this field. Edelbi added that coaching in such fields is a very essential tool for integrating women, as well as to build their capacities and knowledge through practical experience from seniors and experts in the field. For her part, Delphine Eddeh, publishing director of Diwanee websites emphasised that passion alone is not enough, and that a lot of efforts are needed to compete in the business.
Source: The Daily Star, L’Orient Le Jour 3 October 2013