Women of Influence in the Middle East with Amanda Line

Amanda Line is helping to ensure women are supported in the workforce.

Flexible working is the future for men and women, says Amanda Line, PwC partner and business leader of PwC’s Academy, but especially as women play the primary caregiver in most Middle East households, it is important they have access to a suitable work-life balance.

She says: “This can be in terms of maternity leave, flexibility at work for new mums, or flexibility at work in general so you can strike a work-life balance. PwC has a major emphasis on a flexibility framework that helps our staff #bewellworkwell and this is not just limited to women, but they do stand to benefit a lot from it.”

Line has been instrumental in the set-up of what is today the largest regional academy in PwC’s global network. Founded in 2013, PwC’s Academy, the talent and skills development business of PwC, includes seven academies in six countries across the region, training over 19,000 participants annually. According to PwC’s Women in Work Index 2019, $575bn is lost in the MENA region due to legal and social barriers that exist for women’s access to jobs.

“But we are moving in the right direction. Things are changing for the better,” says Line.

“Over the past decade, more women have entered the workforce, there is a better social support system in place, organisations are making a concerted effort to ensure gender diversity at all levels. While there is still a lot of work to be done, we are seeing the impact and it continues to move in the right direction.”On moving to the UAE in 2006, Line provided consultancy services for educational businesses, in addition to establishing the Middle East office of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) with a remit to promote high quality financial education and training across the region.

At PwC’s Academy, she oversees a team of more than 80 employees and 220-plus trainers delivering innovative, collaborative and value driven learning on current and disruptive topics to organisations across the GCC.

She says: “The Academy has a 100 percent women leadership (two female partners) who lead the team and the culture of flexibility trickles down through the business – a positive working environment that creates a positive business impact.”

This article has also been published in: Arabian Business.