Women in Leadership class organizes debate

Students from the AUS Women in Leadership course (MGT 394) presented a debate on May 1 that focused on the motion: Can women network the way men do?

The Women in Leadership course was created by the School of Business and Management's Dr. Linzi Kemp and Linda McLoughlin, faculty members at the departments of marketing and management, respectively. The course aims to introduce the skills and development necessary for female leaders to succeed in today's environment. The course also examines the factors for leadership success in a multicultural, global environment and challenges students to assess and develop their own leadership.

The debate was moderated by McLoughlin and the four guest speakers included Hala Kazim, an artist and entreprenuer; Sheikha Al Deemas, a member of the Sharjah Advisory Council and the owner and manager of Sharjah British School; James Toth, a Special Advisor to the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Global Education and Outreach at New York University Abu Dhabi; and Dr. Sulaiman Al Zuabi, a member of the Sharjah Advisory Council.

"It wouldn't be useful to cut and paste leadership styles from the US onto the UAE," said Toth. "It's important (for men and women) to have emotional intelligence in order to adapt to cultural sensitivities," he added.

The debate concluded with a question and answer session followed by voting.