Professor highlights women’s leadership at Bangkok conference

Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics Grace Khoury presented a paper challenging the myth of female entrepreneurship underperformance in Arab countries at the Women Entrepreneurship Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.

The three-day conference connected researchers and practitioners interested in advancing the field of women’s entrepreneurship. It included paper development sessions, practitioner workshops, and a company visit.

Entitled “Challenges to Women’s Entrepreneurial Performance: A cross-country comparison in the Arab region,” Professor Khoury’s presentation examined the role of women entrepreneurs in the quality and direction of economic and social development in the Middle East and North Africa region. As part of her research, Khoury explored the features within the context of Saudi Arabia and Palestine that support or constrain successful female entrepreneurship. She identified the factors deemed necessary to support entrepreneurial success and to overcome the challenges confronting entrepreneurial endeavors.

Khoury pointed out that women are able to overcome barriers and challenges within the entrepreneurship context and succeed through the support of family, experience, qualifications and skills.

Commenting on her participation at the conference, Khoury said the conference discussed three main perspectives including policy, education and research in the area of women entrepreneurship. “It is an important time to unify and elevate women of diverse backgrounds in international platforms, harnessing our strengths and commonalities,” said Khoury. “This conference is an opportunity to position profession women for success.|

The Women Entrepreneurship Conference is organized by the School of Entrepreneurship and Management at Bangkok University, and sponsored by the British Council, the Newton Fund, and the National Science Technology and Innovation Policy.