DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
The programmes in the KSA used to attract a number of expatriate women. Now, they’re almost exclusively attracting women who were born and bred in Saudi Arabia
both English and Arabic, the programme received a high degree of positive feedback from the participants. From there, the programme was run – with continuing success – in Qatar, Oman and Yemen. Lahham Haider even ran the programme in Syria for some four years before the war there. “In Syria, the programmes were run – with the support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) – for underprivileged women,” said Lahham Haidar. “In addition to working with refugees from Palestine, we also ran the programme for refugees from Iraq – and worked with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). In all, some 300 women completed the programme. “The programmes that are run in the KSA
Bob Little
can be contacted at
bob.little@dial.
pipex.com and more informa- tion on The Springboard Consultancy is available at www.spring board consultancy. com and The British Council at www.
britishcouncil. org
and Yemen, in particular, attract a wide variety of women,” said Lahham Haidar. “Whereas the initial programmes dealt with individuals, we’re now seeing organisations enrolling their employees on the courses. Moreover, the programmes in the KSA used to attract a number of expatriate women. Now, they’re almost exclusively attracting women who were born and bred in Saudi Arabia. “Among the reasons for this may be that
the Saudi Arabian education system, while it’s excellent, doesn’t teach life skills – such as knowing yourself and setting your life goals. However, the Springboard programme focuses on this, so it provides a high quality life skills programme to complement the formal educational system.” Before joining a Springboard programme,
Sumaih, a young woman living in Yemen, was afraid of speaking to other people. She said, “Fear was like a crippling chain. After my mother’s death and an unsuitable love relationship, allied to my underlying fear, I found it hard to arrange my life.”
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Qatar
Enas Adnan I Mustafa, the Assistant HR Executive Director, Training and Development, for the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in Qatar, explained that women comprise 25 per cent of Qatar’s workforce. Half of these work in the education sector. Currently, women comprise seven per cent of HMC’s leadership team but this figure is expected to be 30 per cent by 2016.
Enas, who attended the programme in Lebanon, found it extremely helpful and empowering. So, back in Qatar, Enas now runs the programmes. She commented: “The participants on the Springboard programmes always give me inspiration and hope. The feedback from both the participants and the participants’ managers continues to move me.”
But after attending the programme, Sumaih paid
for the publication and distribution of her diary – which discussed frankly her views on a number of concerns that, she said, are common to all girls in her culture. She added, “In this culture, writers suffer – and women writers suffer even more – but the whole experience was worth it. I’ve now won a scholarship from the Arabic Foundation for Arts and Culture to write a novel. Springboard has helped me put dots on the letters of my life.” Another graduate from Yemen is Hayat. Aged
60, and a former worker in the Yemeni Prime Minister’s office, Hayat still wanted to, as she put it, “make a go of life and change routine.” She added, “In Springboard, we broke many habits and conventional ways of thinking. I now believe that nothing is impossible within the teaching of our religion and traditions.” The oldest member of her group, Hayat has
now learnt how to drive, joined the local gym and is studying at the local university for a diploma in religious studies. Hayat said, “My life now is a blessing from God – and it’s because of Springboard. Springboard enables women to move on in their lives.” The Springboard programme is now available in 43 countries – including the UK. So far, it has encompassed over 230,000 women. Their feedback reveals that 84 per cent of them are ‘more open to change’ after attending the programme; 83 per cent have ‘a more positive attitude’; 80 per cent have ‘increased confidence/self-esteem’; 79 per cent are ‘better at managing change’; 78 per cent have ‘taken on more responsibility’; 75 per cent can provide evidence that they’re ‘better at problem solving’ and 67 per cent can provide evidence that they’re making a ‘better use of resources’.
September 2015
www.trainingjournal.com
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