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UAE women lead in building resilient economy, say experts

Around 30 per cent of ICAI’s members are women and they account for 40 per cent of students.

The UAE women are spearheading the change in building a resilient economy and contributing substantially to its growth, said eminent women at a panel discussion organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), to celebrate International Women’s Day 2022.

Alisha Moopen, deputy managing director of Aster DM Healthcare, chief guest at the event, said: “It was my absolute honour and privilege to address the elite gathering at the ICAI International Women’s Day event. We witness women all around the world breaking the bias everyday. My message to all the incredible women out there would be to take a little bit of time to take better care of your own health which would empower and enable you to take better care of everyone around you, be it as mother, wife, sister, or even as a career professional.”

ICAI Dubai Chapter celebrated International Women’s Day on March 5, 2022, as a curtain-raiser for the IWD of March 8, 2022. Sunder Nurani, chairman of, ICAI Dubai Chapter, said: “Together we can forge women’s equality and collectively we can all #BreakTheBias which is the theme of International Women’s Day for the year 2022. Any sustainable economic growth is possible only if there is gender diversity and contribution from men and women. Around 30 per cent of ICAI’s members are women and they account for 40 per cent of students.”

The panelists included Padmini Priyadarshini, partner and assurance risk management leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers; Dr Sameena Ahmad, managing director, Alpen Capital; Austeja Brasiunaite, Lithuania Expo 2020 Project manager; CA Payal Chandnani, director – IFRS Technical Desk, KPMG Lower Gulf Limited; and moderator Sandhya D’Mello, senior reporter-subeditor, Khaleej Times also shared their insights.

Payal Chandnani, director – IFRS Technical Desk, KPMG Lower Gulf Limited, said: “This International Women’s Day, let us all pledge that we will do our bit to #BreakTheBias and to build a world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. I am proud to be working in the UAE, where initiatives are being taken to promote gender diversity and inclusion — for instance, requiring at least one female director be present on the boards of listed companies.”

Prajakta Shukre famous Bollywood singer took the members back to Lata Mangeshkar’s glorious journey of music while paying as part of the tribute.

Padmini Priyadarshini, partner and assurance risk management leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: “International Women’s Day (IWD) is a day of reflection for each of us as individuals, for organisations and the broader society as a whole. For individuals, it is a day to reflect inwards to see how far we have progressed in fulfilling our own personal responsibilities. For organisations, it is a day to measure their progress and set some specific goals to hold themselves accountable in the next IWD. For society, it is a day to reward meaningful contributions, celebrate successes and set new milestones to achieve.” — sandhya@khaleejtimes.com