CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL / SHEIKH ZAYED ROAD / DUBAI / UAE

Critical debates in the Diversity
and Inclusion agendas:
lobbying for real-time change

25 October 2022
MAIN HALL

09:30

Introduction
Paul Godfrey / Head of Content / Middle East Consultant

Moderator’s welcome introduction to all delegates and speakers

Paul Godfrey looks at how the Women in Construction Summit has evolved dramatically during its four-year history and how, this year, the Diversity agenda has come fully centre-stage, encouraged by many large businesses eager to discuss this critical topic and its many repercussions.

MAIN HALL

09:45

Announcing
Paul Godfrey / Head of Content / Middle East Consultant

Announcing the Diversity in Construction Report and its key conclusions

CPI Trade Media has created an industry-first online publication which features in detail the actions taken on the gender and diversity agendas by four ‘blue chip’ businesses. Each company was asked an in-depth set of control questions and their answers set the high-water benchmark for who is doing what across these crucial issues.

MAIN HALL

10:00

Panel Session
Panel Session

Lessons learned from Grade A businesses: how to be a champion of ED&I

The main thread of discussion will reflect the findings of CPI’s Diversity Report – an industry-first publication looking at key steps forward taken by A-list businesses across the Gender & Diversity landscape. The panel will see where the trends lay, but also puts a sharp focus on the initiatives that still need to be taken – which even industry leaders perhaps have yet to fully embrace.

Panellists:

  • Olga Litkovets, Director Business Development and Marketing MENA, Cundall
  • Shorouq Hamawi, Regional Communications and Marketing Director – International Development, South Asia, Middle East & Africa, Mott Macdonald
  • Marina Kindelan, Associate Facades Director, AESG
  • Chris Bernard, Partner, Global People Recruitment & Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, HKA
  • Elaine O’Connor, Head of Fit Out MEA at JLL

Moderator:

  • Paul Godfrey

MAIN HALL

11:00

Break
Networking

Coffee Break


MAIN HALL

11:15

Presentation
Marie-Joelle Ghaoui, Director, Architecture & Engineering Services, KEO International Consultants

The Cultural and Commercial Hallmarks of a Diversity-aware business

If a business has taken the Gender & Diversity debates very seriously, what efforts should we expect to see it make? What will be the actual benefits to staff and stakeholders, and will the company externally benchmark what it’s doing against international standards?

MAIN HALL

11:45

Presentation
Katarina Uherova Hasbani, Partner and Global Director of Strategy and Advisory, AESG

Delivering a comprehensive and proactive approach to gender and diversity: AESG’s experience

How can a business go about creating an industry-benchmark approach to Gender & Diversity issues across all its departments and activities? What are the essential steps it should follow and what are the results it should aspire to? Here, we see the remarkable end-product that a multi-disciplinary consultancy has achieved by following a rigorous, aspirational approach from the top-down.

MAIN HALL

12:15

Presentation
Naomi Miles, Regional Director of Human Resources, Middle East and Africa, SNC-Lavalin Group

Equal pay for equal jobs and why it’s not a reality in the GCC

The GCC remains one of the few regions globally where people are not paid according to the work being done, but on the basis of their ethnicity – a practice that is not only illegal but morally reprehensible. It is nonetheless followed by many international names. Here. We look at the traditional barriers to fair and equal pay and how the aspiration to parity can best be achieved.

MAIN HALL

12:45

Break
Break

Lunch Break


MAIN HALL

13:30

Presentation
Kabira Bhatporia, Head of Human Resources, MEA & Turkey, JLL

Gender and Diversity best practice: the responsibilities of a Fortune 500 business

Fortune 500 businesses are expected to set the high-water mark by which all others are judged, but what does this actually entail and what are external standards that a leading business must reference and deliver in order to be seen as setting true best practice standards?

MAIN HALL

14:00

Panel Session
Panel Session

Effective gender and diversity representation – steps to progress

The panelists each represent a unique ‘take’ on the Gender & Diversity matrix, and are led in the discussion by a world-class diversity practitioner. The session looks frankly and what works and what doesn’t, and the likely impact throughout on the company’s reputational standing, its workplace culture and its bottom line.

Panellists:

  • Michelle Najm, Director of Architecture – Head of Department , JT + Partners Architectural and Engineering Consultant
  • Rachel Willacy, Regional Head of Procurement, Compass Project Consulting
  • Ralf Steinhauer, Director, RSP
  • Alphya Zareene, Resident Engineer, National Engineering Bureau
  • Mennah Abdelkarim Darwish, Design Manager, Select Group
  • Sara Guinand, Senior Digital Construction co-ordinator, ALEC

Moderator:

  • Chris Bernard, Partner, Global People Recruitment & Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, HKA

MAIN HALL

15:00

Closing
Paul Godfrey / Head of Content / Middle East Consultant

Closing remarks

Paul Godfrey closes the day event summarising the take a way points and thanking all the speakers, delegates, sponsors and partners