I am just back from Davos (a decade ago I could have never imagined myself saying that!), where the dry air and excessive talking did my throat in. There I was, not only negotiating the treacherously icy roads upon which one had to walk, but also sounding like a squeaky frog. In the ultimate global schmoozefest, as the World Economic Forum is often called, I was barely audible. How ironic that my lack of voice was a parallel for the role of women at the forum, who comprise just 22% of participants!
Now in its 49th year, about 3,000 people attend WEF, and maybe a 1,000 more are involved in ancillary events, making the otherwise nondescript town of 12,500 a week-long hotbed of Richie Richs, politicians, corporate titans, celebrities, assorted activists, cultural mavens and well-networked individuals. After all, it costs about $600,000 to be a strategic partner (there are 100, including some big Indian ones) and regular membership is approximately $60,000. And yet, everyone flocks here. Only Davos can pull of Prince William interviewing Sir David Attenborough, where I can pass performer will.i.am walking down the street, or overhear an anti-child labour activist discuss fund raising while queuing up for a waffle and hot chocolate from the Wipro food truck.
This year’s theme was ‘Globalization 4.0: Shaping the Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” Lofty goals and yes, a lot of jargon. It’s a theme around which 350 meetings are officially in the program. Given that most of the attendees are the very folks who have benefitted the most from rising inequality it’s all pretty hilarious. As Mr Gazillionaire, a master at plain speak, said to me, “Everyone comes here and uses big words, but what are they really saying? And what are they really doing?”
But, as with so many conferences and festivals, the side events can be amazing. One of them happens to be the Women of Impact dinner co-hosted by Tina Brown, the legendary New York based editor for whom I head India, and Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam. Tina, whose annual New York Women in the World Summit has been described as the Davos of feminism, is always five steps ahead of the Zeitgeist. As she said in her opening remarks, this dinner idea came long before women became the world’s new Green!
This year, the guests of honour were Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the first woman to serve as Chile’s president (twice!), and SheFighter founder Lina Khalifeh, a Jordanian who has trained more than 15,000 women in self defence. Lina’s interviewee was my great friend Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, from Pakistan, who has won two Oscars and is a regular at WEF.
The event is always jam-packed and a meld of incredible bold faced names. Christine Lagarde. Karan Johar. Queen Rania of Jordan. Fareed Zakaria. Satya Nadella. Anand Mahindra. Michele Yeoh ( Crazy Rich Asians ). Richard Edelman. Ertharin Cousin.
Our dinner is significant because women’s voices have been drowned out for so long that we need extra effort to hear them. I thought back to a dinner the previous night, which I had with a bunch of high-powered female executives. Everyone talked about how they feel like they are showing off when they say they are in Davos. One woman said she posted on Facebook that she was going, and immediately got asked by a friend what she was doing there. “My husband would never be asked that, he would get a thumbs up emoji,’ she said.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Davos if the Champagne wasn’t flowing. Although the days are always rushed, my friends and I always pop into the FQ (Female Quotient aka girls lounge) lounge and the Russia lounge for some bubbles. There are lots of private parties in penthouses and chalets. At one such party, the guests were trapped when the elevator shut down from overuse! How best to negotiate the stairs in heels? Ah, Davos fashion — now that’s a whole other column.
This fortnightly column tracks the indulgent pursuits of the one-percenters.
