INSEAD: The World’s Most Powerful Languages

Kai L. Chan, Distinguished Fellow, INSEAD Innovation & Policy Initiative | May 22, 2017 What leaders should know about English and other languages competing for global influence. Should we all emulate Mark Zuckerberg and embrace speaking Mandarin? In April this year, U.S. President Donald Trump’s grandchildren (aged 5 and 2) engaged in soft diplomacy at the highest level when they sang in Mandarin for the Chinese president and his wife. Ten years ago, investor Jim Rogers even moved to Asia to provide his daughters with a strong Chinese learning environment. Language opens doors. Speaking more tongues means more opportunities to participate in conversations… or eavesdrop on them. It’s also clear that the power of a language goes beyond simple head count, not to mention that it’s difficult to count the number of speakers of a language given their various proficiencies. As someone who became a polyglot (five languages) in my 40s – proving that picking up languages in later years is not insurmountable – I grew interested in ranking the usefulness of languages in a scientific manner. I created the Power Language Index (PLI) as a thought experiment: If an alien were to land on Earth, what language would serve it…

Ongoing quest to bridge the gender divide

[caption id="attachment_3345" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Economist Kai Chan, author of the Gender Progress Index, is also a distinguished fellow at Insead who also advises the UAE Federal Government on competitiveness and statistics. Delores Johnson / The National.[/caption] Ongoing quest to bridge the gender divide Suzanne Locke March 13, 2017 Updated: March 13, 2017 06:18 PM When we try to close the gender gap for women, we should remember that there are two genders and that both have gaps, says economist Kai Chan. "Society progresses when both genders are able to maximise their outcomes," says Mr Chan, author of the Gender Progress Index, a report released by Insead business school in Abu Dhabi to commemorate International Women’s Day. "When we talk about gender there are two genders and both have gaps. It is about assessing which countries are doing the best at achieving the full potential of both sexes."  Mr Chan is a distinguished fellow at Insead who also advises the UAE federal Government on competitiveness and statistics. In his index, the UAE ranks 85 out of 122 countries, top in the GCC but lower than Tunisia or Algeria (at numbers 55 and 65 respectively) in the wider Middle East. Kuwait ranked…

UAE tops GCC in INSEAD Gender Progress Index

Published Saturday, March 11, 2017 The UAE achieved another milestone in the area of women's empowerment by leading the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in a Gender Progress Index (GPI) released by INSEAD, a top business school. INSEAD's GPI takes a holistic view towards gender issues and includes five dimensions: Education, health, labour, politics and power, and society. The index considers the relative performance of men versus women with no distinction between the two. The findings of the index were discussed at a seminar marking International Women’s Day at the INSEAD Middle East Campus in Abu Dhabi, and were presented by Dr. Kai L. Chan, Distinguished Fellow, Innovation & Policy Initiative, INSEAD. "The index will enable policy makers to understand the problems within society and focus on where efforts should be placed. It is about assessing which countries are doing their best in achieving the full potential of both sexes. There are more obstacles to women, but society progresses when both genders maximise their outcomes,'' Chan said. ''So far, other gender reports have focussed exclusively on either the level of gender progress or the ratio between men and women (i.e. absolute progress vs relative progress). For the GCC countries to perform…

UAE tops Gender Progress Index in GCC (Gulf News)

The index reveals gender ratios on multiple dimensions and was revealed in Abu Dhabi on International Women’s Day Abu Dhabi: The UAE tops the GCC in a Gender Progress Index developed by one of the world’s leading business schools that takes a holistic view of gender issues. At a seminar held to mark International Women’s Day, titled ‘Inspire, Impact and Empower’, INSEAD revealed its findings on its Middle East campus in Abu Dhabi. Developed by Dr Kai L. Chan, Distinguished Fellow, Innovation and Policy Initiative, INSEAD, the index was created to help societies reach the full potential of both sexes, without prejudice on the gender of outcomes. It covers five dimensions: education, health, labour, politics and power, and society. The index is different from the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report (WEF GGR) which in 2016 reported that the most challenging gender gaps remain in the economic sphere and in health, projecting that, at the current rate of change, the gap will not be closed for another 170 years. “The [WEF GGR] report is a little misleading … it only looks at the gap in one dimension. This index looks at not only the gaps (the ratios of men to…

INSEAD releases Gender Progress Index on International Women’s Day

Index captures gender issues on multiple dimensions Middle East 08 March 2017 INSEAD, one of the world’s leading business schools, has launched the Gender Progress Index that takes a holistic view towards gender issues. The findings of the Index were discussed at a half day seminar marking International Women’s Day titled ‘Inspire, Impact, Empower’, at the INSEAD Middle East Campus in Abu Dhabi. The Index was presented by Dr. Kai L. Chan, Distinguished Fellow, Innovation & Policy Initiative, INSEAD. The seminar featured several women leaders in the Middle East who have made a significant contribution to the region and society, including Khawla Al Serkal, Director General, Sharjah Ladies Club; Helen Al Uzaizi, Chief Executive Officer, BizWorld UAE, Leena Khalil Co-Founder  Mumzworld.com; Hanan Darwish, Cluster President, Gulf and Pakistan, Schneider Electric; Sara Mohamed, Managing Partner, Executive-Women; Dunia Othman, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, mrUsta . Miguel Sousa Lobo, Associate Professor of Decision Sciences, Director of the Middle East Campus, INSEAD delivered the welcome note. He said:”It is important to understand the complexity around gender roles in a globalized world in order to develop different strategies to minimize gender gaps that differ across cultures and across domains – economic, health, legal, and…

L’espagnol, de plus en plus influent, menace le français

https://youtu.be/wF30n_5gr7Q La langue de Molière bientôt détrônée par la langue de Cervantès. L'espagnol sera bientôt plus influent que le français. L'échéance serait pour 2050. Sur le podium des langues les plus puissantes au monde, l'anglais, le mandarin et le français. Mais l'espagnol menace d'éjecter du podium le français d'ici à 2050. C'est le constat de l'étude menée par un chercheur de l'Institut européen d'administration des affaires (INSEAD). Alors que le français est la langue maternelle de 80 millions de personnes, pour l'espagnol, c'est 470 millions de personnes, soit presque six fois plus, ce qui la hisse au 2e rang mondial des langues maternelles. L'Afrique pour sauver le français ? Une langue parlée en Amérique latine, en Espagne, dans certains pays d'Afrique et aux États-Unis. Outre-Atlantique, c'est la 2e langue maternelle de la première puissance mondiale. Mais ce n'est pas tout : diplomatie, affaires, politique... Le développement de l'espagnol est porté par l'essor démographique et économique de l'Amérique du Sud. À cela, la France a peut-être un argument. Il pourrait compter sur la natalité en Afrique pour garder sa place parmi les langues les plus puissantes au monde. Copyright © 2016 France Info. Article as it appeared online.