Though the presence of women is growing gradually in all types of jobs, women still have to face numerous challenges to break the glass ceiling at workplaces and pursue a desired career, speakers said at an event here on Saturday. They suggested the women to focus on their personal skill development to overcome the challenges and ensure their effective role in society and strengthen their empowerment.
The day-long event titled ‘Women of Excellence 2018’, hosted by Women in Leadership (WIL), was held on Saturday at Le Meridien Dhaka, aiming to enable women professionals to grow, gain skill sets, competencies, interact with senior leaders and broaden their network.
The event was organised by C&E in association with Le Meridien Dhaka.
The programme brought together eminent corporate personalities, respected resources from and beyond the boundary to provide the incumbents a holistic direction on their future.
Experts shared insight on self-discovery & purpose, personal branding and networking, personal excellence, emotional intelligence, communication & presentation skill, service excellence, innovation excellence, leading self and team and the organisation to enhance the competence and confidence of women. Different sessions consisting of keynote presentation, dialogues and panel discussions aimed at disseminating knowledge among an audience with professional women and female students large in number.
The event was inaugurated with the opening speech of Najmus Ahmed Albab, CEO and Founder of Corporate and Excellence (C&E) who stressed developing oneself constantly in order to gain excellence.
Sohana Rouf Chowdhury, Director, Rangs Group, shared what inspired her to launch ‘Dolonchapa’, the first-ever privately-operated bus service for women. She laid emphasis on ensuring public safe transportation for women and discussed her more plans to further establish the initiative through a mobile app.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between WIL and SSD-Tech to facilitate virtual training for women across the country. In the keynote speech, Zara Jabeen Mahbub, SVP and Head of Communications & Service Quality, BRAC Bank, shared her personal experience about personal branding and networking.
She stressed the importance of focusing on own actions and working with own strength to achieve success.
Shwapna Bhowmik, Country Manager, Mark & Spencer, emphasised how perseverance, stepping out of the comfort zone, planning in advance and responding to challenges firmly can help one succeed in the personal and professional lives.
She urged the audience to nurture themselves diligently to ensure a better future.
Among the renowned women leaders who took part in the dialogues and expressed their views include Runa Khan, Founder and Executive director of Friendship; Shwapna Bhowmick, Country Manager of Marks & Spencer. Later, Nazia Andaleeb Preema, President of WIL, shared her valuable thoughts about her organisation.
Nazia along with several other key figures of NGOs and government officials took part in panel discussions.
The event brought together some 17 eminent professionals to share their insights on diverse topics catered in several different sessions.
The day-long event also included cultural performance by artistes Shama Rahman and Nazia Andaleeb Preema.
