Latest news with #SheLeads
News18
6 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Union Minister Annpurna Devi inaugurates second edition of SheLeads II
New Delhi (India) August 7 (ANI): The Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Annpurna Devi, on Thursday inaugurated the second edition of UN Women's flagship capacity-building programme, SheLeads II: Workshop for Women Leaders, in New Delhi. The event brought together grassroots women leaders, elected representatives, and administrators from across India to foster dialogue, build political leadership skills, and amplify women's participation in governance, as per the press two-day workshop, organised by UN Women India Country Office, comes at a pivotal moment, following the historic passing of the Women's Reservation Act, 2023, which mandates a 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. With only 14% of seats currently held by women in the 18th Lok Sabha, initiatives like SheLeads are critical to bridging this representation her keynote address, Annpurna Devi emphasised that women's leadership is not just a matter of representation; it is central to driving women-led development for a Viksit Bharat. Initiatives like SheLeads are pivotal in equipping women with the skills and networks needed to lead from the front, ensuring that our development agenda, be it towards the 2030 SDGs or India's Agenda 2040, is truly inclusive and representative of every on the occasion, May-Elin Stener, Ambassador of Norway to India, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan, said that Norway is proud to support initiatives that empower women leaders and foster inclusive governance. Initiatives like SheLeads are essential for translating policy commitments into real-world year, the workshop received over 260 applications from 22 states, more than doubling the response from its inaugural edition in February. After a rigorous selection process, 36 participants were chosen based on their experience, motivation, and future plans. Over the two days, they will engage in interactive sessions with Members of Parliament, policy experts, and media strategists, covering topics such as electoral campaigning, governance structures, narrative building, and effective media at the event, Kanta Singh, Country Representative a.i., UN Women India, said that to achieve the vision of a Viksit Bharat, women's representation in politics is essential. Women leaders are not only change-makers in their communities but are critical to shaping policies and governance that reflect the aspirations of all citizens. SheLeads is our effort to ensure women have the platform, skills, and networks to step into these roles with is a flagship initiative of UN Women India Country Office, aimed at advancing gender equality in public and political leadership, aiming to support women leaders in contesting the upcoming/next Lok Sabha and State Assembly Women exists to advance women's rights, gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. As the lead UN entity on gender equality, it shifts laws, institutions, social behaviours and services to close the gender gap and build an equal world for all women and girls. (ANI)
Hi Dubai
20-06-2025
- Business
- Hi Dubai
Dubai Women Establishment Launches SheLeads Program to Empower Future Female Leaders
Dubai Women Establishment has launched the 'SheLeads' Program for Future Female Leaders under the directives of H.H. Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, marking a significant step in strengthening women's leadership in the UAE. Set to run from June 23 to 27, 2025, the programme is being held in partnership with Ashridge Hult International Business School at the Mandarin Oriental Jumeirah, Dubai. It will bring together 25 mid-level female professionals from 13 public and private sector entities. Designed for mid-career professionals, SheLeads focuses on equipping participants with strategic leadership skills to drive impactful change and support national development. The curriculum includes sessions on personal leadership strengths, team-building, strategic thinking, and professional excellence. This initiative reinforces Sheikha Manal's ongoing commitment to empowering Emirati women and enabling their participation in high-level decision-making roles. It also aligns with Dubai Women Establishment's broader goal of cultivating a strong pipeline of future female leaders through world-class training and development programs. SheLeads is the latest addition to the Establishment's portfolio of initiatives aimed at positioning women as key contributors to the UAE's future across all sectors. News Source: Emirates News Agency
See - Sada Elbalad
12-04-2025
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
Al-Mashat: EGP 300 Bln Invested in Women's Economic & Social Empowerment over Five Years
Nada Mustafa Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, participated in the 10th edition of the She Can Conference, hosted at the Egypt Digital Innovation Center in Giza. The annual event supports female entrepreneurs and aims to shape the future of the entrepreneurship and business landscape in Egypt. In her address, H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat emphasized that Egyptian women continue to demonstrate resilience and the capacity to excel across key strategic fields—including science, politics, and entrepreneurship. She highlighted their vital role in creating and capitalizing on opportunities and their proven ability to achieve inspiring milestones recognized both locally and globally. 'At the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, women's empowerment is central to our strategy and project implementation,' she stated. 'We are committed to fostering a business ecosystem that supports women entrepreneurs, through financing, capacity-building programs, and improved access to markets, in collaboration with local and international partners.' She noted that investments in women-focused initiatives across education, healthcare, social protection, and employment have grown significantly between FY 2020/2021 and FY 2024/2025, totaling approximately EGP 300 billion over five years. These investments directly contribute to increasing the participation of women entrepreneurs in Egypt's development process. H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat also highlighted the SheTrades Egypt initiative, implemented in partnership with the National Council for Women, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC). The initiative seeks to enhance the competitiveness of women-led businesses and expand their access to both domestic and global markets. She also discussed the She Leads initiative, developed in collaboration with the National Council for Women, the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, and the Young Leaders Foundation. The program targets vocational school graduates, offering training and capacity-building for aspiring women entrepreneurs, and spotlighting outstanding success stories among them. Additionally, the Gender Gap Accelerator, launched in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the private sector, aims to close the gender gap in economic participation, opportunity, empowerment, and wages. Egypt is one of the first countries in the Middle East and Africa to adopt this pioneering initiative. All of these programs and initiatives are available via the Hafiz Platform for financial and technical support to the private sector. The platform, launched by the Ministry, connects development partners with private-sector companies—including startups—enabling them to benefit from development financing, technical assistance, and advisory services from international development institutions. H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat further noted the Ministry's involvement in additional initiatives, such as the Equal Opportunities and Women's Empowerment Award, a category within the Egypt Government Excellence Award, and the Women Lead program, implemented in partnership with the National Training Academy. In the same context, and as part of broader efforts to support Egypt's entrepreneurship ecosystem, she referred to the establishment of the Ministerial Group for Entrepreneurship. The group focuses on supporting women-led startups, creating a conducive environment for investment, and coordinating cross-governmental policies to boost this vital sector. She added that the working groups under the Ministerial Group are currently developing a Startup Community Charter for Egypt, standardizing the definition of startups, and formulating streamlined procedures to support them—while also working to limit startup migration abroad. Efforts are underway to evaluate the assignment of a central authority to handle startup registration processes, in addition to examining incentive proposals to encourage larger corporations to invest in startups. On the sidelines of the conference, the final round of the Aurora Tech Award competition took place, with a judging panel that included Mr. Tamer Taha, Advisor to the Minister on Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Head of the Private Sector Engagement Unit. The award aims to support and empower female founders of tech startups. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia Lifestyle Pistachio and Raspberry Cheesecake Domes Recipe News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Videos & Features Bouchra Dahlab Crowned Miss Arab World 2025 .. Reem Ganzoury Wins Miss Arab Africa Title (VIDEO) Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Arts & Culture Arwa Gouda Gets Married (Photos)
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
From $6 billion unicorn to bankrupt cautionary tale: The story of 23andMe
The DNA testing company 23andMe—once one of the hottest startups in Silicon Valley—declared bankruptcy on Monday. Anne Wojcicki, the cofounder and CEO who popularized consumer-focused genomic testing, has also resigned. "We have had many successes but I equally take accountability for the challenges we have today," Wojcicki wrote in a statement shared on social media. "There is no doubt that the challenges faced by 23andMe through an evolving business model have been real, but my belief in the company and its future is unwavering." 23andMe's bankruptcy wasn't entirely a surprise given the recent board and share price turmoil at the cash-strapped firm. Still, the turn has raised concerns for the company's 15 million customers whose DNA now appears to be in limbo. (23andMe has said there will be no changes to how it stores or protects customer data.) Wojcicki's decision to step down follows months of pressure on the cofounder, whose entire board resigned on the same day last fall. For many years, Wojcicki was seen as a leading thinker, champion of consumer health rights, and one of a few women leading an influential biotech firm. Through her connections in tech, politics, and Hollywood, she helped push 23andMe and the possibilities of genetic testing into mainstream culture. But events of the last few years have raised questions about her legacy. Here's a timeline of events that shaped 23andMe trajectory: 2006: Linda Avey, a genetics expert, Paul Cusenza, an engineer and executive, and Anne Wojcicki, a former healthcare investments analyst, launch 23andMe. Avey had previously conceived of the idea and pitched it to investors, including Google's cofounders. According to Avey, Sergey Brin suggested Wojcicki become a cofounder. (Brin and Wojcicki were married at the time.) 2007: 23andMe begins offering DNA tests for $1,000 per order, asking customers to send their spit to the company in a vial in exchange for information about their ancestry and some health risks. The company's test allows users to opt in to share their data with researchers and answer questions about their lifestyle, creating a potentially valuable database for future mining. New York Times journalist Amy Harmon writes an in-depth personal account of testing her DNA with 23andMe, bringing widespread awareness of the company and its potential. The company also becomes known for celebrity-attended "spit parties." 2009: Wojcicki and the board announce Linda Avey is leaving the company. (Cusenza had left in 2008.) Years later, Avey tells the podcast She Leads: 'It's not something I chose.' She also calls the ouster 'devastating.' March 12, 2015: Wojcicki launches a drug discovery business, looking to capitalize on the data it has collected from consumers. This leads the company into a costly undertaking, with Wojcicki later recounting how she was warned against doing drug research, which can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, require several years, and doesn't guarantee success. Wojcicki recruits top scientific researchers and 23andMe eventually develops two cancer drug targets that will reach clinical phase trials. November 22, 2015: The FDA sends Wojcicki a warning letter over its spit kit tests that offer customers health and disease risk information. The company takes its health results products off the market and hires experts to navigate regulatory affairs. Two years later, the FDA approves 23andMe's consumer-focused genomic health tests, creating a first-of-its-kind FDA-approved product. July 25, 2018: GSK signs a deal with 23andMe that gives the drug company exclusive access to 23andMe's database—including DNA data for it's then-5 million customers—for four years. "The goal of the collaboration is to gather insights and discover novel drug targets driving disease progression and develop therapies for serious unmet medical needs based on those discoveries," GSK says in a press release. This partnership will later be extended until 2025 and GSK will announce that it led to potentially viable drug targets. June 16, 2021: 23andMe goes public via a Richard Branson and Virgin Group—backed SPAC deal. The listing briefly values the company at $6 billion, but it will be worth $3 billion by the end of the year. November 1, 2021: 23andMe buys telehealth company Lemonaid Health for $400 million. It was always Wojcicki's goal for 23andMe to offer retail DNA testing, run drug research, and integrate genomic testing and clinical medicine. October 6, 2023: A major data breach exposes the DNA of 6.9 million people targeted by hackers. The company later confirms that the hackers targeted customers of Ashkenazi Jewish and Chinese ancestry. The breach also leads to a class-action lawsuit that will force the company to pay a $30 million settlement in 2024. January 31, 2024: The Wall Street Journal publishes an explosive story looking at the reasons 23andMe's was trading as a penny stock and has never turned a profit. As a public company, major flaws in its business model become obvious. Sources in the story question whether Wojcicki is paying enough attention to the company's fundamentals or if she's building a personal brand. More broadly, the biotech market is also suffering from a downturn that began in 2022. April 18, 2024: With 23andMe financials still deteriorating, Wojcicki expresses interest in taking the company private. As the controlling shareholder, she also says she will not be open to outside bids. (She changes her stance a few times months later.) The 23andMe board forms a special committee to prepare to assess a deal. August 2, 2024: The board responds to Wojcicki's first bid to take the company private for 40 cents per share. It does not believe the share price is appropriate and it is unhappy with the dearth of details about financing the sale. "Our expectation after months of work was that you would submit a fully-financed, fully-diligenced, actionable proposal that is in the best interests of the non-affiliated shareholders," the board writes. It also offers the opportunity to resubmit the proposal at a later date. The company extends this deadline again when Wojcicki's sister, Susan Wojcicki, the CEO of YouTube, dies of lung cancer. September 18, 2024: In a shocking turn, the entire board of 23andMe resigns on the same day, explaining in a public letter that its members felt they had few other options. Wojcicki, as the controlling shareholder, had said she would not entertain other offers and the board had not received an improved bid while the company was facing dire straits. The group—which included luminaries such as Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube, and Roelof Botha, head of Sequoia Capital—wrote that while they 'wholeheartedly' believed in the company's mission to personalize health care with genetic data, they disagreed with Wojcicki's strategic direction. October 16, 2024: 23andMe completes a reverse stock split to avoid being delisted from NASDAQ. The share price had previously fallen below $1. October 17, 2024: Wojcicki tells Fortune in her first public interview since the board's resignation that she still believes she 'can land this plane' and that she was as surprised as anyone about the board's resignation. She also responds to former employees' suggestions that her overly-controlling leadership style helped to sink the company. 'I've always said ever since the very beginning, I don't need to be in charge,' she told Fortune. 'There's no ego for me. I care about the vision and the mission.' February 20, 2025: After closing the drug discovery business, laying off nearly half of 23andMe's staff, and adding three CFOs to her new board, Wojcicki links up with New Mountain Capital and submits a new proposal to buy 23andMe that values the company at $75 million. Nervous retail investors tell Fortune they hope the board will not accept her first offer. March 2, 2025: Wojcicki explains in a new public filing that New Mountain Capital is 'no longer interested' in partnering with her on the proposal. Wojcicki includes a new bid, this time valuing the company at $42 million. The board rejects that proposal later the same day. March 24, 2025: 23andMe announces it's entering bankruptcy, prompting data privacy concerns. Anne Wojcicki steps down as CEO but says she will still make yet another bid to buy the company. "Consumers are rising up and asking for more control over their health and want greater knowledge about how to be healthy and why they may have health issues," she writes on "We fought for consumers to have direct access to their information and for them to have choice and transparency with respect to their personal data. As I think about the future, I will continue to tirelessly advocate for customers to have choice and transparency with respect to their personal data, regardless of platform." This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
