Last week, another Dubai-based hotel took an important step toward empowering women by signing an agreement with WEPs UAE member Evolvin’ Women, a social enterprise aimed at enabling unemployed women from less privileged economic backgrounds gain training and development .

Representatives from DoubleTree Dubai Business Bay and Evolvin’ Women founder, Assia Riccio, met at the hotel to formally inaugurate the program, which has so far seen three women placed at the property. The women will spend 24 months on a skill development programme at the hotel in a variety of positions before returning to their home countries armed with valuable training and experience they otherwise would not have been able to gain.

The programme is designed to develop women through work experience so that they can then return to their home countries with the skills they have gained and add value to their families and communities through increased earning power or by sharing their knowledge with their community. By doing so, hotels can reduce employee turnover and generate a measurable social impact.

The DoubleTree Business Bay Hotel is the first property within the Hilton portfolio to partner with Evolvin’ Women.  The agreement evolved thanks to a meeting between Riccio and DoubleTree Business Bay General Manager, Remco Werkhoven.

Riccio states that she knew that the partnership would be a success because Mr. Werkhoven quickly grasped the holistic nature of the program. She said:

“Remco understood that the program was not just about checking a ‘CSR box’ but instead about helping people to develop valuable training and skills that will enable them and their families to lead better lives when they return to their respective countries.” 

The partnership falls under the Hilton Hotel Group’s ‘Travel With Purpose’ sustainability initiative.

Riccio hopes that other hotel groups will see the value derived from training women with valuable skills that enable them to access the job market in their home countries and follow suit with similar programs.

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A social enterprise at heart, Evolvin’ Women is improving the employability of women from developing countries and helping hospitality businesses in the Middle East and Africa embed social responsibility in their business practices. Due to our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals #4, #5 and #8 and our work in the field of equality of opportunity, in 2017 we joined the United Nation Global Compact and the UAE taskforce for the 7 Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). Contact info@evolvinwomen.com or click here to learn more.