3 Arabs among the World's 100 Most Powerful Women

CAIRO – 24 November 2017: Three Arab women made the rest of us very proud when they made it to the Forbes list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women for the year 2017. The list released by the business magazine describes the women as this year’s " Icons, game-changers and gate crashers."

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi (UAE) came at number 36. She was the first woman to become a cabinet minister in the United Arab Emirates in 2004 when she became the Minister of Economy. Now the Minister of Tolerance, she is working hard to reinforce a prosperous, diverse atmosphere not just in the UAE, but also the international community.

Ranking her at number 36 on the list, Forbes established Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi ahead of many global influential figures such as author J.K. Rowling, who came at #88, singer Taylor Swift who came at #85, politician Hilary Clinton who came at #65, and even the woman who first asked "who runs the world?", the question which every woman in the world replied to with "Girls", singer Beyoncé Knowles who came at #50.


1- Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance, United Arab Emirates, July 2017 - Chatham House/Flicker

Lubna S. Olayan (Saudi Arabia) came at number 59. She is CEO of Olayan Financing which holds stocks in a wide variety of franchises in the Middle East. She co-chaired the Saudi-U. S. CEO Forum and shows great support and encouragement to Saudi women, motivating them to work. Her company has 540 female employees, according to Forbes.


2- Lubna S. Olayan, Deputy Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Olayan Financing Company, Saudi Arabia 2013 - World Economic Forum/Wikimedia commons

Raja Easa Al Gurg (UAE) came in at number 90. She is the Managing Director of Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, which is a giant consisting of 27 companies handling various types of business from metal to construction. It also partners with more than 370 brands. Additionally, Al Gurg is the president of Dubai's Business Women Council.


3- Her Excellency Dr Raja Easa Al Gurg at Women In STEM 2015 - Women in STEM/YouTube thumbnail