Equity Magazine July 2017 Issue

WOMAN LEADER
achievement and gratitude. “I caught up with an old friend
from Jordan a few weeks ago and she said, I’m so happy
for you, you’re in the right place, you’ve always been on a
mission and always wanted to save someone or fix
something. I felt it was very reassuring because sometimes
deep down you know what you want, but when your close
friends and community know that this is what you’re made
of and cut off to do, it’s great.”
While humanitarian practices are ingrained in Jumana,
her strengths also lay in entrepreneurship, particularly
mentoring. She is one of the founders of the first nonprofit
organisations registered in the DIFC, known as
Reach. The company provides structural mentoring for
professionals and has been operational for over three
years, having mentored over 200 women. “The non-profit
began from the belief in the value of mentoring and the
kind of support women need to succeed in the workplace.
It’s something that helps and allows people to reflect and
it’s very fulfilling,” she tells us. Reach is a programme
which works through algorithms on a technology platform
to match mentors and mentees. The programme spans
over one year, with the requirement of commitment to
succeed. “We bring together a pool of amazing mentors,
provide orientation training to set expectations, guidelines
and our code of ethics to let them know of the Reach
approach. They then fill matching forms related to
personal and work objectives, after which the best pairs
are linked,” says Jumana. Throughout the year, Reach also
offers networking opportunities, as they are keen on
fostering a community. Intakes comprise of two batches,
one in January and the other in April, of around 25-30
pairs per cohort. Most women are from law, finance,
business, corporate and entrepreneur backgrounds, with
mentors being men and women.
Jumana’s mentoring process began through Reach as
well, with her mentor based in Lebanon. “When mentees
ask me what to expect I always tell them to trust the
process, you must allow yourself to grow. I also tell
mentees to be realistic, not aspirational, so that you match
with the right person,” she says. Her mentee phase came
about at a juncture in her career, when she was pregnant
with her second child not too long ago. “My second child
was after a ten-year gap and it wasn’t a coincidence. Being
a working mother was always a challenge, so I felt it was a
critical time for me to work with someone and get help to
place me on the right track. It worked wonders for me.”
A typical day is never the same for a woman of her calibre.
It begins early, with a school drop off and straight to work.
At times, Jumana finds herself rushing home to pack a bag
for travels, or meetings and events during the day. The one
thing she cherishes the most, however, is downtime with
her children at the end of the day. Jumana is one to praise
that her line of work comprises of a day job and a passion,
both of which she is truly lucky are correlated.
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EQUITY