PRESENCE AND POSITION OF WOMEN IN THE INTERNATIONAL HALAL CERTIFICATION BODIES STRUCTURES

Transcription

1 PRESENCE AND POSITION OF WOMEN IN THE INTERNATIONAL HALAL CERTIFICATION BODIES STRUCTURES Mariam Isabel Romero CEO del Instituto Halal de Junta Islámica (Halal Institute of Islamic Board Spain)

2 Islamic Board of Spain Islamic Board of Spain promoted a Law for the Kingdom of Spain in order to guarantee the fundamental rights of Muslims in our country In its 14th article, the Law established the right of Spanish Muslims to access halal food and services, particularly in public spaces: schools, universities, hospitals, prisons, the army, etc. In 1996, Islamic Board created the Halal Institute, which developed, 20 years ago, its Halal Quality Mark

3 Instituto Halal Halal Institute The Halal Institute has established cooperation relations with a number of organizations and countries all over the world. Besides, it is member of two organizations promoting a world halal standard WORLD HALAL FOOD COUNCIL INSTITUTO HALAL IHI ALLIANCE

4 More than 300 industries and companies commercialize their products and services worldwide with the Halal Guarantee Mark

5 My experience In my 20 years of experience in the world of Certification Bodies, the presence of women has been increasing a members of the staff of the most important CBs in the world, such as JAKIM (Malaysia), Halal MUI (Indonesia), MUIS (Singapore) or Gulf Accreditation Centre. However, the presence of women is more often related to scientifictechnical staff of these CBs, with a clear glass ceiling to access executive positions in these organizations.

6 Overcoming the "glass ceiling" There is still much work to do for women to reach higher positions in the executive staff of these organizations. We must consider that by developing ISO Halal standards, the CBs are deciding on the food model of millions of Muslims on the planet. The absence of women in such paradigm creates a vacuum that I can detect personally, considering that the sensitivity of women in consumer affair are crucial in the Halal Food world.

7 Overcoming the "glass ceiling" Another deterrent is the absence of consumer and opinion leaders in standard development. Here, we might find an important group of women who are not taking part in the debates about the categories of products which can be classified as halal or haram, considering the great diversity in cooking styles, raw materials, weather zones, economic models and particular economic situations, which are not considered by international organizations.

8 MAIN OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENTREPRENEUR WOMEN 1. To promote Consumers Associations worldwide, to favour the necessary arbitration between industry, certification bodies, governments and the social fabric of halal consumers. 2. To promote the creation of consumers groups or consumer cooperatives, in order to build commercial bridges, favour access to reasonably priced halal products, using the digital platforms existing worldwide 3. To create international networks of producers focused on healthier, eco-friendly food, following cluster models of Small and Medium Enterprises. 4. To create intermediary platforms, for manufacture and promotion, favouring contact between Small and Medium Enterprises which may share quality raw materials for higherquality, more competitive products.

9 MAIN OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENTREPRENEUR WOMEN. 5. To promote the creation of hospitality and catering schools for female chefs, and to enable them to compete in equal status and talent with their male colleagues in Halal Catering. 6. To develop healthy halal fast food franchises, as big companies, such as MacDonald s are doing. This multinational has launched a new fresh and healthy fast-food concept, starting in Japan, aimed at more conscious and committed consumers of halal food. 7. To raise awareness on the benefits of gender equality in the structures of all kinds of organizations promoting the halal concept in all its scopes. This must be a commitment of all the institutions and organizations.

10 Thank you