Dubai, Asharq Al-Awsat-Cisco Systems announced the opening of the world’s first Regional Cisco Networking Academy Program specifically for women. The Lahore College for Women University (LCWU), in Pakistan, is the fifth Regional Academy for the country, where there are now also some 42 participating Local Academies.

Prof. Dr Bushra Mateen, Vice Chancellor of the LCWU, said: “Until the near past, women had employment opportunities only in limited fields. However, organizations today are increasingly striving to include more women in their workplaces, improving female-male ratios to support women empowerment and participation. There is a huge job potential for women in call centers, educational institutions, public and private organizations and related domains, as women are often considered more reliable than male employees.”

Regional Academies are the middle tier of the Networking Academy program, providing the expertise to train up tutors in local academies which then provide tuition to students. The new Regional Academy is the first in the world to be dedicated only to women. This Initiative is another step in the ongoing work done by Cisco’s Gender Initiative, launched by Cisco in partnership with the Cisco Learning Institute (CLI) in April 2000 to increase women’s access to IT training and career opportunities.