“Every great man has a great woman behind him, every great woman has a great government behind her,” says H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Development and International Cooperation, UAE

Abu Dhabi-UAE:  12 November, 2013 – Women are increasingly playing a dynamic and influential role in the global oil and gas sector, one that has traditionally been dominated by men since its establishment in the 20th century.

The observation was made at ADIPEC 2013 by three women leaders from the oil and gas sector in Europe, Africa and the UAE. Entitled ‘Women in Industry: A Journey to Leadership', the first of its kind women-only event to be featured at ADIPEC 2013 brought together an audience of local and international business women from the oil and gas industry.

Led by H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Development and International Cooperation, UAE, the panel drew the participation of Mrs. Sumayya Hassan-Athmani, Chief Executive Officer of the National Oil Corporation of Kenya, and Maria Haga, Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust and former Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy.

Moderated by Eithne Treanor, a successful business woman and media trainer, panel and audience members shared their personal stories of best practice and women empowerment in the industry. Following a round of very personal and interesting introductions and stories, the discussion turned to the key factors behind women's success at the workplace. The panel agreed that women have unique leadership styles that should be nurtured.

In this context, Haga remarked: “Do not pretend to be a man - be proud to be a woman! We tend to be more caring, place a premium on relationships and have the ability to see the big picture more easily. As a society, we should strive to combine the unique traits of female and male leadership styles to achieve the best possible outcomes for our companies and the global community.”

Self-confidence was cited as one of the key drivers of success and the lack of it as one of the biggest obstacles in enabling women to grow professionally.

Confronted with this issue, H.E. Sheikha Lubna remarked: “Women are self-deprecating creatures. Do not be afraid of failure! Take the first step – you learn from your failure not your success. If you never try, you will only limit yourself and never explore your true potential.”

Sumayya Hassan-Athmania added: “Stubbornness is a quality that needs to be nourished in female leaders. You need to understand that you cannot have it all and be perfect in all aspects of your life. Focus on the important matters, prioritise and be the best you can be.”

The panel agreed that the success of women in the work place was largely made possible and continues to be made possible by strong government policies, allowing women to pursue their career as well as attend to their families.

Taking Norway as an example, Haga shared: “There are two key economic drivers behind the rise and success of Norway as a country: the successful exploration of oil and gas and the efforts to encourage and enable women to become part of the workforce.”

Concurring with this observation, H.E. Sheikha Lubna remarked: “Following the foundation of the UAE, one of the first policies that was implemented was to grant women the right to education and equality before the law. Today, 70% of our students are women and our government departments are run mostly by women, making the UAE a remarkable and enabling environment for women in industry. Women have achieved and excelled in many areas of the private and public sector and this, in my opinion, is one of the true success stories of the UAE.”