Doha meet gives working women professional tips

Businesswomen in Qatar gathered at the ‘How Women Work’ conference yesterday to share their experiences of working in the local market and network with fellow professionals.
The second edition of the conference took place at Katara, where a large group of both local and expatriate women met to address certain issues they face in the workplace.
The conference was launched last year by Arcata training founder, Carolin Zeitler, and this year she was joined by Jeanine Bailey and Alison Ringrow in organising the event.
Held under the slogan ‘A conference to inspire women to define and create their success’ the event was opened by the vice-chairperson of the Qatar Business Woman Forum Aisha al-Fardan who spoke about working in Qatar and offered advice to the other women in attendance.?
Numerous sessions then took place throughout the day, focussing on a range of issues related to women in the workplace.

A section of the participants

Experts hosted sessions on developing personal and professional skills, under titles such as ‘networking secrets: making connections and linking dots,’ ‘Speaking out: communicating your message effectively,’ ‘mindful self-leadership,’ ‘sustaining success,’ ‘working in Qatar as a woman: an overview of the law,’ ‘discover your passion,’ and a range of other topics.
The day also featured a debate on the motion ‘this house believes that the glass ceiling no longer exists,’ allowing both students and professionals to put forward their opinions of the situation women find themselves faced with today.
Many women representing different businesses in various sectors took part in a ‘90 second pitch’ session, which allowed participants to introduce their ideas and meet like-minded people.
Zeitler then completed the conference by delivering a session called ‘doing the impossible – one step at a time.’
Zeitler told Gulf Times she was delighted with the response to the conference, and has already received a lot of interest in hosting and sponsoring the conference next year.
“We want to provide a platform for women who have dreams and aspirations and want to better themselves,” she said, adding “it often feels lonely for women like that here, but today shows that it doesn’t have to.”
“There are so many women here in the great position of not having to work, but who want to do something – we want to provide the necessary support to help them with their ideas,” she added.
Fellow organiser, Jeanine Bailey echoed her sentiments, noting that many of the participants had expressed their support for the event and had approached her to congratulate the organisers for their “brilliant ideas.”
She explained that a number of women who had attended last year’s conference had returned with their success stories and tales of how the event had helped to develop their ideas and change their lives.
“People have met business partners and learnt about the necessary procedures to start up their own companies and develop their businesses,” she said, adding “we hope to hear from more women in the future about how the event has helped to change their lives and careers.”