[Women’s Forum 10th Anniversary] Female CEOs as Joan of Arc and Nightingale? Time to Create a New Image Now

2021 Asia Women Leaders Forum
Keynote Speech by Sohail Inayatullah, Inaugural Chair of UNESCO Futures Committee

So Hail Inayatullah, the inaugural chair of the UNESCO Futures Committee, is delivering a keynote speech online at the '2021 Asia Women Leaders Forum' hosted by Asia Economy on the 27th at Lotte Hotel, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy reporters Seulgi Na and Jinju Han] "Women CEOs are always told they must be Joan of Arc, Wonder Woman. They are told to sacrifice themselves like Nightingale. Now is the time to create a new ‘image’ and a new ‘future.’"

Sohail Inayatullah, recognized as one of the world’s most influential futurists and the inaugural chair of the UNESCO Future Committee, stated on the 27th at the ‘2021 Asia Women Leaders Forum’ held at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, during his keynote speech, "We must change the future of women through the image of the future."

Inayatullah, in his lecture titled ‘Leadership of Women in the Asia-Pacific Region and Their Changing Roles,’ emphasized, "The future is often thought of as an empty space, but it is not. Images lead reality. If we change the image of the future, the future itself changes." He diagnosed, "Things like the iPhone, which we imagined while watching the movie Star Trek, have already become reality. Not only technology but images imagined in the past, such as women’s voting rights, have become reality."

In particular, he showed a black-and-white photo from the 1960s of a mother and daughter holding cooking utensils and smiling, reflecting, "The image of women in the 1960s was that a mother told her daughter, ‘My dear, dreams and goals mean that the devil is trying to stop you from making a delicious dinner. So don’t think about your future. You are a woman.’"

However, he explained that the image of women has clearly changed over the past 50 years. Inayatullah showed photos of female scientists and female prime ministers active worldwide, emphasizing, "The image is changing, and new images are being created."

Furthermore, he cited the famous quote from Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, "It always seems impossible until it’s done," suggesting that the future of women will change even more.

On the 27th, attendees are listening to the keynote speech by Sohail Inayatullah, the inaugural chairperson of the UNESCO Futures Committee, at the '2021 Asia Women Leaders Forum' hosted by Asia Economy at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Inayatullah presented four scenarios for the future of women: a patrilineal society where corporations were important; a society where men and women have equal wages and patrilineal society but with added forms of caregiving; a society where women create wealth; and a society where double standards disappear and a new economy is realized. Which scenario is chosen depends on the images and metaphors of the future we currently imagine.

He said, "I hope you think about what the current metaphor is," and added, "What is the metaphor of the future you desire? Let’s create a new story about a better ‘SHE future.’" He also questioned, "You must ask yourself, ‘What kind of future do you want?’ What role will you play to change the metaphor?"

Inayatullah urged, "We need a new alliance, a new economy." He repeatedly emphasized, "The patrilineal society was inefficient as 50% of the world’s women suffered under it. We need a society based on partnership."