GWL Week Wrap: Women Lead Global Headlines

The role of women in leadership, entrepreneurship, and economic participation continued to feature strongly in a number of global events this week, with many new achievements, funding prospects, leadership positions, and policy discussions being announced. In the UAE, Huda Al Musallami emerged as the first woman from the Emirates to receive her qualifications as a training captain, while the National Experts Program announced the presence of 44 women out of 86 participants in four batches. In Africa, the African Development Bank pointed out a $42 billion funding gap for women-led enterprises.

Concurrently, women entrepreneurs were given new avenues through initiatives and competitions held in Canada, UK, Egypt, Indonesia, Ukraine, and Oman. In addition, there was news in the world of professional sports with the introduction of a new tournament by the LPGA in Hong Kong, which is worth $3.4 million in prize money. From aviation and finance to technology, academics, sport, and culture, events in the week represented progress being made as well as gaps existing in women’s involvement across the world.

Women Rise Across Leadership and Professional Sectors

Key milestones related to leadership were observed this week starting from the milestone achieved by Huda Al Musallami in the UAE aviation sector. She is an Etihad Airways Captain who is the first woman from the UAE to qualify as a training captain in the UAE. She is responsible for training and evaluating the pilots while making sure that they meet the safety and professional requirements of Etihad. Huda Al Musallami started her career in the aviation industry in 2003, joined Etihad in 2014 and became a Captain in 2023.

The appointment of Captain Al Musallami also came on the occasion of Emirati Women’s Day. Captain Al Musallami said that it would be a chance to forge the way for other Emirati women, and Etihad Airways said that their initiative is just part of their larger strategy to empower Emirati women at the airline. As stated by the airline, 75% of Emirati employees are women.

Women were also seen taking a prominent position in terms of leadership at the national level under the UAE National Experts Program. Since its establishment in 2019, there have been 86 Emirati experts trained under four different groups, out of which 44 were women. These women are serving in all fields of the government and private sector, including science, technology, healthcare, sustainability, diplomacy, academia, and business.

The most recent expansion of the program is the introduction of the Artificial Intelligence track for 32 Emirati experts, 12 of whom are women. Women experts have also taken part in international forums like COP28 and World Government Summit.

The senior leadership position change in Africa is also marked by the appointment of Bente Krogmann as General Manager, Africa at bolttech. This new appointment expands her existing mandate to be General Manager of bolttech’s Kenya operation to include bolttech’s overall African operations. Bente Krogmann had been working at bolttech since she joined in the capacity of General Manager, Kenya in December 2025 and was appointed General Manager, Africa in July 2026. Previously she worked as the CEO and Director of mTek Services for more than six years and has experience in insurtech, business development, commercial and entrepreneurial aspects of Africa and Europe.

In Sweden, Storytel has appointed Åsa Barsness as the Chief People and Communications Officer. The new position includes both the communications and HR/people functions at the company. Åsa Barsness, who will be joining Storytel’s Executive Management Team, reporting to CEO Bodil Eriksson Torp, will assume the new position starting November 1, 2026. She has extensive experience in communication, marketing, HR and organisational change positions at TV4 Media, Bonnier Broadcasting, SVT and IBM.

In addition, academia and medical research have also seen a leadership development when Georgia Malandraki joined the Beckman Institute as a part-time faculty member. She specializes in neuroscience, medical imaging and machine learning to investigate disorders of swallowing, neurorehabilitation, and neuromodulation. She also studies the role that data from wearables may play in chronic pain and telehealth decision-making.

Women Entrepreneurs Gain New Routes to Growth

The theme of entrepreneurship also continued to be one of the important topics as there were programs which supported women owned companies in terms of skills, finance, networking and exposure.

In Dubai, the Emirati Women’s Forum 2026 was held with the participation of more than 2,000 people with the theme of “We Emerge Stronger and Better.” This program, organized by the Dubai Women Establishment for celebrating Emirati Women’s Day, included seven keynotes and panel discussions and six specialized workshops on the issues of entrepreneurship, sustainability, innovation, finance, media, negotiation, culture and arts. Women entrepreneurs from the ‘Proudly from Dubai’ group showcased their ventures.

The Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition organized by the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce has seen women entrepreneurs with enterprises registered under the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom invited to take part. Application will continue up to September 30 with the final set to hold on November 11. The pitch competition is an offering from the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, NatWest.

In Canada, there is yet another great chance through the Capital Elle Business Impact Award 2026. The entrepreneur backed program will see applicants get the chance to win a prize worth $100,000 which includes both cash and business growth chances. Backed by 40 women owned enterprises across Canada, the award looks to target strategic connection, growth capital, and acquisitions.

In Oman, Sohar International inked a MoU with Lahunna Oman for the development of women-led SMEs under the Siraj SME Mentoring Program. The 22-week program will offer mentoring, financial education, business planning, and decision making services to women entrepreneurs operating registered and revenue-generating businesses in Oman. It aligns with Oman Vision 2040 and ends with a Demo Day event.

Egypt’s Women in Tech Accelerator Program picked 12 women-led tech firms as part of its 2026 cohort. This program is a joint initiative of Standard Chartered Foundation, Entlaq, and Village Capital and will focus on offering investment readiness and business development support. Three of the selected startups will get $35,000 grant each.

In Indonesia, the RupiahCepat program organized the Womenpreneurship Business Bootcamp within its GROW with RupiahCepat program. Over 270 MSMEs led by women have registered from August 10 till August 22. Within the framework of the program, 15-20 firms will be selected for coaching and training from September 5 till October 3. In the final phase, 7-10 firms with the most successful business model will be provided with investment capital of IDR 30 million, while two best performing firms will get an opportunity for the product showcase.

There is a similar entrepreneurship-related event which was held in Ukraine, namely SILab Ukraine's free four-day Women's Entrepreneurship Program in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. This program is focused on practical business training, consulting, learning from peers and developing business plans. Participants will focus on such topics as market research, customer analysis, MVP creation, financial modeling, taxes, sales, marketing and grant writing.

Closing the Gender and Economic Opportunity Gaps

However, as new opportunities arise, there have been some developments that demonstrate the structural inequalities that women continue to face.

The report of the African Development Bank pointed out the funding gap that exists by about $42 billion between women enterprises in Africa. Lack of funds has limited the ability of women to start their ventures, grow and provide employment. The bank is developing its Gender Action Plan from 2027 to 2031 that seeks to address the systemic barriers that limit women economically. This includes unlocking $5 billion for women entrepreneurs, which has reached about $3.1 billion so far.

In parallel to the WikiWomen+ Summit that took place in Paris and online, gender participation in the Wikimedia community was investigated as well. Conducted before the Wikimania, the summit focused on women's involvement as contributors, readers, and individuals covered by the online content. According to one of the statistics mentioned at the summit, about 65% of Wikipedia users are males. At the same time, participants also discussed such topics as Wiki Gender Stats, governance, editorial decisions, and the influence of generative AI on Wikimedia projects.

In the tea sector, gender participation was raised as well. In collaboration with the Women in Tea & Coffee Conference, the UK Tea Academy decided to launch the Women in Tea Award at The Leafies International Tea Awards. This award is going to acknowledge women who show leadership, innovation, and the commitment to empower other women in the tea business. The fact is that in 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer is being planned.

In South Africa, Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Thamsanqa Ntuli made calls for increased women’s leadership, gender equality, and gender inclusivity in the workplace during the Office of the Premier Women’s Empowerment and Wellness Conference that took place in Pietermaritzburg. The event was conducted as part of Women’s Month in order to discuss issues of leadership, resilience, workplace wellness, and professional development. Gender-based violence was also an important issue discussed by Premier Ntuli.

At the local level, Women’s Training and Development Center of Al-Bayda municipal council started conducting its first course in handicraft skills. The goal of this initiative is to develop women’s skills in order to ensure their employability or entrepreneurial activities. Additional courses are expected to be conducted within the scope of the project.

Women Take Centre Stage in Sports and Culture

With the announcement of the Futu Ladies World Championship Presented by moomoo, the world of women’s professional sports is set to experience a significant upswing. In a strategic multi-year partnership with the LPGA, moomoo will host this prestigious championship in Hong Kong from March 4, 2027 to March 7, 2027. The championship will take place on a yearly basis from 2027 till 2029, at The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club, showcasing 78 professional female golfers competing for a total of $3.4 million prize money – the highest among any LPGA tournaments held in Asia.

Cultural highlights of the week were marked with the music of singer-songwriter, composer and vocal producer Ruaa Kayy, who is known for her contribution to songs “Mashooqa” from Pritam’s upcoming Cocktail 2 soundtrack, “Jee Lenge” from Lukkhe and “Laiyaan.” Ruaa Kayy launched her independent single “Hush Hush,” which was performed, composed and written by Harjot Kaur, with the artist name Ruaa Kayy.

This release is also more of a personal endeavor for Kayy, who has already been involved in such projects as Brahmāstra soundtrack and “Kesariya,” has written songs for Jasmine Sandlas and Parineeti Chopra and was a participant of sessions for Ed Sheeran’s “Heaven” along with Jonita Gandhi. “Hush Hush” gives more insights into Kayy’s persona as a singer and a songwriter, going beyond behind-the-scenes roles which made up her professional path.

Finally, personal aspects were incorporated in leadership development when Chantal Thiel released her project called Menace to Society. This project is aimed at women entrepreneurs, who want to build several six-figure businesses. In addition to leadership development, this project provides business coaching and trauma healing services with the aim to uncover patterns affecting decisions, visibility, sales and business development. Thiel believes in the importance of sustainable ambition rather than in long hours and exhaustion in entrepreneurship.

Conclusion

The news in the GWL this week was illustrative of how diverse are the sectors where women are becoming more and more involved in both their career and economic development. From Huda Al Musallami’s historical achievement in aviation industry to a series of women who became CEOs of companies as well as to the entrepreneurship programs and funding available to women – all these examples show how diverse opportunities there are nowadays for women to be a leader.

Nevertheless, the problem of financing for the companies run by women in Africa worth $42 billion, as well as lack of female representatives in platforms such as Wikimedia illustrate the fact that there is still a lot of work to be done in this field. This means that the week gave us an opportunity to see both positive trends and challenges that should be dealt with.