Saadia Zahidi

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Saadia Zahidi
سعدیہ زاہدی
Zahidi in 2009
Senior managing director at the World Economic Forum (WEF)
Incumbent
Assumed office
2018
Personal details
BornLahore, Pakistan
CitizenshipPakistani & Swiss
Alma materSmith College
Graduate Institute Geneva
Harvard University
AwardsFifty Million Rising: The New Generation of Working Women Transforming the Muslim World (2018) - longlisted for the 2018 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award

Saadia Zahidi (Urdu: سعدیہ زاہدی) is an economist and senior managing director at the World Economic Forum (WEF) and co-authors the WEF's Future of Jobs, Global Gender Gap and Global Risks Reports. She has served on the United Nations Secretary General's high level panel on women's economic empowerment and on the European Space Agency's (ESA) high level advisory group on human and robotic space exploration. Zahidi is also the author of Fifty Million Rising: The New Generation of Working Women Transforming the Muslim World (2018).

Early life and education

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Zahidi was born in Lahore, Pakistan.[1] She is a citizen of Pakistan and Switzerland.[2]

Zahidi holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, a master's in international economics from the Geneva Graduate Institute, and a master of public administration (MPA) from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[3][1][4] She speaks four languages.[citation needed]

Career

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Zahidi started her career at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland as an economist in 2003. She was the youngest person to be appointed managing director and board member at the World Economic Forum in 2018.[5] Zahidi heads the WEF's Centre for the New Economy and Society responsible for economy, human capital, development and equity agendas at the Forum. She co-authors the Forum's Future of Jobs, Global Gender Gap and Global Risks Reports.[4][6][7] She also leads initiatives on growth, innovation, skills, jobs, equity and social mobility.[3][2][8]

Zahidi served on the United Nations Secretary General's high level panel on women's economic empowerment and on the European Space Agency's (ESA) high level advisory group on human and robotic space exploration.[9][10]

Zahidi published the book Fifty Million Rising: The New Generation of Working Women Transforming the Muslim World in 2018,[11] which explores the number of Muslim women who entered the global workforce between 2000 and 2015.[12][13][14][15] She has highlighted how women have been integrated into the global workforce due to technology,[16] and has discussed reasons for the gender employment gap in the international media and at TEDxLausanneWomen.[8][17][18][19][20] As of 2025, she is also the author of 111 articles for international news publications.[21]

Awards

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Zahidi's book Fifty Million Rising was longlisted for the 2018 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award.[22][23] Her book proposal won the inaugural Financial Times and McKinsey Bracken Bower Prize for young business authors in 2014.[24]

Zahidi was honoured in BBC's 100 Women in 2013.[25][26]

References

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  1. ^ a b Kane, Frank (21 January 2019). "INTERVIEW: Saadia Zahidi — A woman's voice amid the macho power players at Davos". Arab News. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b Walsh, Colleen (15 October 2010). "Seeking a finer balance". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Saadia Zahidi - Agenda Contributor". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  4. ^ a b "World Economic Forum MD, Saadia Zahidi highlights Risks of Misinformation". The Diplomat (magazine). 22 January 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  5. ^ CNBC International Live (13 September 2021). How WEF's youngest executive overcame imposter syndrome. Retrieved 29 July 2025 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ Varela, Adrián Francisco (20 May 2020). "Teletrabajo equilibrado, formación continua y mejores empleos educativos, sanitarios, tecnológicos y ambientales: así cambiará el trabajo tras la pandemia, según la directora gerente del Foro Económico Mundial". Business Insider España (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  7. ^ "Sadia Zahidi". The Asian Business Leadership Forum ABLF Network. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  8. ^ a b Zahidi, Saadia; Tyson, Laura (31 October 2014). "The Slow March to Gender Parity". Project Syndicate. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  9. ^ "UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Women's Economic Empowerment – Reports and toolkits". UN Women – Headquarters. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  10. ^ "ESA to embolden Europe's space exploration". European Space Agency. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  11. ^ Hill, Andrew (15 September 2015). "Bracken Bower winner Saadia Zahidi snags book deal". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  12. ^ Bartley, Emma (13 February 2018). "How 50 million women are transforming the Muslim world". The National. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  13. ^ Khan, Sheema (1 February 2018). "Review: Fifty Million Rising explores how women are transforming work force across Muslim world". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  14. ^ Waterbury, John (16 April 2018). "Fifty Million Rising: The New Generation of Working Women Transforming the Muslim World". Foreign Affairs. Vol. 97, no. 3. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  15. ^ FIFTY MILLION RISING. Kirkus Reviews. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  16. ^ "Les musulmanes, une génération au travail". Le Temps (in French). 1 March 2018. ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  17. ^ Prügl, Elisabeth; True, Jacqui (2 November 2014). "Equality means business? Governing gender through transnational public-private partnerships". Review of International Political Economy. 21 (6): 1137–1169. doi:10.1080/09692290.2013.849277. ISSN 0969-2290.
  18. ^ Knowles, Becci (14 July 2022). "Global Gender Gap Report: Time to parity far too long". Sustainability Magazine. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  19. ^ TEDx Talks (29 July 2015). Gender Parity: Awareness, Analysis, Action | Saadia Zahidi | TEDxLausanneWomen. Retrieved 30 July 2025 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ Markkola, Pirjo. (2021) "Nordic gender equality: Between administrative cooperation and global branding." Contesting Nordicness: From Scandinavianism to the Nordic Brand. pp. 133-134. ISBN 978-3-11-073501-7
  21. ^ "Articles by Saadia Zahidi". Muck Rack. 22 June 2025. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  22. ^ "Fifty Million Rising by Saadia Zahidi". FT Business book of the year award. 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  23. ^ "Business Book of the Year 2018 — the longlist". Financial Times. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  24. ^ Zahidi, Saadia (13 November 2014). "'Womenomics' is starting to transform the Muslim world". Financial Times. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  25. ^ "100 Women: Who took part?". BBC News. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  26. ^ "Five Pakistanis listed in BBC'S 100 Women". The Express Tribune. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
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Saadia Zahidi at the Muck Rack journalist directory