Motivating private sector to lift women’s representation from 1% to 30%

The Lebanese League for Women in Business (LLWB) launched yesterday a new initiative engaging the private sector to appoint women in administrative boards in order to reach a participation rate of 30% by the year 2025. On the plan, LLWB director, Asmahan Zein, revealed that since two weeks, some 20 Lebanese establishments have committed to this goal. Noting that women currently represent only 1% of posts in the boards of directors of private sector institutions, Zein said she hopes the initiative will eventually attract more establishments. Stating that the majority of businesses are family run, with a dominating patriarchal presence, Zein disclosed that in the second phase of the plan, LLWB will press for the enactment of a women representation quota in the private sector. She also pointed out that each of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Beirut and Mount Lebanon, the Lebanese Businessmen Gathering, the Lebanese Franchise Association and Capital Concepts Holding, have agreed to this suggestion yesterday and signed on move towards achieving the goals of the initiative. During the launch ceremony, Nabil Fahed, the Beirut Chamber’s vice president, mentioned that women presently make up nearly 21% of board positions, hoping to hit the 30% figure shortly. Fahed pledged to spread the word to some 15 thousand member companies to study the subject. Meanwhile, Fouad Zmekhol, head of the Businesspeople’s Gathering, confirmed that the presence of women in private sector institutions and on its boards is a positive element and a catalyst for diversity. A study by Peterson Institute for International Economics covering around 22 thousand institutions worldwide, has shown that nearly 60% of these institutions do not involve women in their executive boards. (L’Orient Le Jour, October 21, 2016)