Georgetown Lecture Puts the Spotlight on Qatari Women Leaders

Buthaina Al Ansari, Senior Human Resources Director at Ooredoo and founder and Chairperson of Qatariat T&D Holding Company, recently brought her message of the power of education and personal perseverance at a Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) lecture titled “Sheroes – How Female Leaders are Changing Qatar”, as part of GU-Q’s Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) Monthly Dialogue Series. 

“There are male and female CEOs, male and female scientists, male and female doctors, and male and female achievers, but there are only heroes. I do believe there should be she-roes!” began Ms. Ansari, introducing the key theme of her presentation.

Ms. Al Ansari, who holds a Master’s Degree in Business Management & HR Strategic Planning from Qatar University, and a Master’s Degree from American University of Cairo in Human Resource Management, has forged a career out of actively promoting positive change for her country and the emerging talent of Qatari women. And she reinforced this message at the lecture, encouraging women to take advantage of the many resources that are available to them.

“In Qatar, whether you are a mother, a wife, a student, an employee, or business owner, we are all at the development phase. We have to contribute together to create the desired outcomes in Qatar. Don’t ever underestimate your role in this country,” she said.

The Director of CIRS, Dr. Mehran Kamrava, launched the public event, saying: “Part of what we do at Georgetown is encourage mentorship as a vital educational resource for both personal and professional growth. Ms. Al Ansari’s dedication to strengthening the role of Qatari women in both the public and private sector, as well as elevating and recognizing the contribution of all women in Qatari society, is the kind of trailblazing mentorship that sets new standards for active community engagement, and in turn, contributes towards the development of the entire country.”

Borrowing from her own life experiences in struggling to create opportunities for herself and her fellow countrywomen, Ms. Al Ansari shared with the audience comprised of the university community and members of the Qatar public her “Buthaina Al Ansari Recipe” for personal success. This includes identifying and recognizing the role of family, the importance of education, learning how to brand yourself, and the necessary willingness to take risks. But she identified education as the most important of these elements.

“I can take away your wealth, your family, everything that you love, but I cannot take what’s in your mind. This is very important. We have a strong system of education that was made possible by Sheikha Mozah’s efforts to bring top universities from around the world to Qatar, such as Georgetown, so we have to make sure we use it.”

 As an entrepreneur and Chairperson of Qatariat T&D, Ms. Al Ansari collaborates with innovative and best-in-class organizations to raise the benchmark and quality of expertise in Qatar. In her lecture, she noted the benefits to all of Qatar when women elevated their contributions to national development. “I always encourage young girls to remember that the Qatar National Vision (QNV2030) isn’t just a term for the media, for tv or radio. We have to contribute to it. We are lucky to have it.  Empowering women is so important, it was included as a sub pillar of the vision.”

The presentation included a screening of a film on Qatari women produced solely by Qatari talent, and concluded with a special reception.

In 2012 Ms. Ansari received the L’Officiel Qatar’s Most Inspirational Arab Woman of the Year Award. She has been voted by CommsMEA as one the Top 50 Female Telecoms Executives, and for the past several years she has been named by ArabianBusiness.com as one of the 100 Most Powerful Arab Women. She has been a judge on the popular show Stars of Science for six seasons.