Dr Nur Bano Ali discusses the importance of supporting women in business

Over the years, Dr Nur Bano Ali has established her reputation as a talented and successful businesswoman and an inspiration to others in Fiji. With a PhD in accounting, Nur is the managing partner and founder of Aliz Pacific accounting firm, president of the Suva Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the president of Women in Business.

Nur spoke to Suva East this week about the work of Women in Business. Now a registered non-profit in Fiji, WIB has grown tremendously in the past few years, and is much more than an annual awards event.

The organisation promotes women’s participation in the workplace and in entrepreneurial ventures via:

• skills workshops for businesswomen
• networking lunches
• mentorship opportunities

Having just completed a workshop in Suva last weekend, WIB looks forward to bringing these same trainings to women’s groups in Savusavu, Nadi, Sigatoka, and wherever they can get funding to go.

Addressing RCSE, Nur also spoke candidly about the barriers and challenges ambitious women face, not only from ‘old-school’ thinking, but from other women and even from themselves and societal pressures. When she first joined the Suva Chamber of Commerce, out of the 12 board members, she was the only female. Now the board is equally divided between 6 men and 6 women.

“It’s an embarrassment if women are not equally represented in an organisation,” she argued. To that end, WIB also works to support companies who would like to attract women into leadership roles.

Nur’s presentation stimulated heated discussion amongst RCSE’s passionate feminists (both male and female).  Many thanks to Nur for all of her incredible work and for joining us this week.