Ernst & Young's "Women. Fast Forward" program has been named as the winner of this year's prestigious "Best Global Initiative for Women's Economic Empowerment Award" at the WIL Achievement Awards 2015. This award recognizes EY's efforts to encourage women's economic empowerment globally. Samar Obaid, partner at EY, received the award at a ceremony recently at the Jumeirah Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi. The award was presented by United Arab Emirates Minister of Economy Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori and Sophie Le Ray, CEO of Naseba and the founder of WIL forum series. Yasmeen Muhtaseb, MENA diversity & inclusiveness leader at EY, said: "We are delighted to receive the award for our "Women. Fast Forward" initiative. We are confident that with the right policies and leadership support, gender parity in the workplace will become a reality sooner rather than later. EY has been a strong advocate of accelerating women's advancement because we see the economic contribution when women are enabled to realize their full potential and contribute to our societies." EY's "Women. Fast Forward" program supports the fact that a company with even one woman director outperforms those with none (Global Gender Gap Report 2014, World Economic Forum). The program supports: 1. Illuminate the path to leadership. Good opportunities for progression are considered a top enabler by men (26%) and women (35%), suggesting that organizations must work harder to make the path ahead clearer to women, demonstrate what is possible and show them career opportunities that match their skills and ambition. 2. Speed up culture change with corporate policy change. The twin enablers of work/life balance and flexibility are high on the women's list of accelerators. From its own experience and what the high-performer responses suggest, EY says informal flexibility for both men and women is highly effective in helping all employees balance their personal and professional lives. 3. Establish a supportive environment and work to eliminate conscious and unconscious bias. Men cited unconscious bias as the No. 1 barrier for women in the workplace. Twenty-seven percent of men said that in their own experiences having a supportive culture is the best way to support women's career advancement. To advance women, EY recommends that leaders must spread an organization-wide message that bias is unacceptable. EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services it delivers help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. It develops outstanding leaders who team to deliver on its promises to all of its stakeholders. In so doing, it plays a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities. — SG
