BEIRUT: Lebanese journalist, media personality and consultant Paula Yacoubian has been selected to sit on an advisory panel for diversity and inclusion at the World Bank. The panel is the first of its kind and was formed to improve workplace diversity within the institution.
“The External Advisory Panel will review and advise President Jim Yong Kim and his senior management team on the organization’s strategies and measures to achieve a diverse and inclusive workplace,” a press release issued by the World Bank said last week.
Yacoubian is a prominent figure in Lebanese media and has interviewed a wide array of world leaders. She currently hosts a weekly prime-time television show on Future TV entitled “Inter-Views.”
Yacoubian has worked at a number of TV stations in her career, including LBC and the pan-Arab network ART. She began working in television at just 17, when she was hired by local station ICN.
Yacoubian is also the CEO of Integrated Communications, which she founded with her husband, media mogul Mouafac Harb. Integrated Communications provides media services and training for politicians across the political spectrum.
She is also known to be outspoken on women’s issues and has used her position to call for more gender equality in Lebanon.
According to the World Bank, the external advisory panel was formed following a study on the diversity and inclusiveness of the institution’s workforce. The study found that the organization should “explore new ways to become more diverse and could benefit from an outside perspective.”
Yacoubian and her fellow panel members were selected for their demonstrated success improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace, according to the press release.
The other members of the panel are: Elizabeth Adu, Former World Bank group director and deputy general counsel; Richard Bernal, counselor for Jamaica, Inter-American Development Bank; Julius Coles, director of Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership, Morehouse College; Indra K. Nooyi, chairman and chief executive officer, PEPSICO; and Kenji Yoshino, chief justice Earl Warren professor of constitutional law, New York University.
Most members of the advisory panel have had experience working in law, politics or development at some point in their careers. For instance Bernal is Jamaica’s former ambassador to the United States, and Coles spent most of his career working for the United States Agency for International Development.
“These individuals are known for their commitment and contributions to diversity and inclusion, and the transformational impact they have had in their organizations and/or the broader community,” the press release said.
“I look forward to the panel’s engagement with us as we build an even more diverse and inclusive workplace,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. “I’m sure we’ll benefit from the rich perspectives and ideas of these leaders.”
Yacoubian is the only representative with a media background and the only member of the panel from the Middle East and North Africa region.
Fittingly, the announcement came just a few days before International Women’s Day, which is celebrated on March 8.
International Women’s Day – also known as International Working Women’s Day – is celebrated each year in countries around the world. The day is used to recognize global efforts toward gender equality.
The first International Women’s Day was held in the United States in 1909 and was organized by the Socialist Party of America.
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