Why gender diversity is critical to Arab innovation

Why gender diversity is critical to Arab innovation

Last month, the Arab world celebrated as the Hope Probe – the first Arab mission to Mars – completed the most critical and challenging phase of its mission: entering the orbit of the red planet. But beyond the scientific achievement, there was another very real success story – 80 percent of the scientific team working on the mission were women. This may seem surprising, but in the Arab region, and in Bahrain specifically, women have been leading from the front for decades.

The success of the Mars mission comes as a growing body of research indicates a strong correlation between gender diversity and innovation – and subsequently success. Recent examples include the “Gender 3000” report, published at the end of 2019 by the Credit Suisse Research Institute, which found a link between firms with more female leaders and stronger share price performance over time.

Another study released around the same time by the Kauffman Fellows Research Centre found that companies with female founders raised 21 percent more in venture capital funding than companies with all-male teams.

Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency has been named in Time magazine's Next 100 Most Influential People in the World

In other words, gender diversity is critical to