Saadia Zahidi

Saadia Zahidi is a Managing Director at the World Economic Forum and Head of the Forum’s Centre for the New Economy and Society. Her teams work with leaders from business, government, civil society and academia to understand and shape the new economy, advance competitiveness, drive social mobility and inclusion, close skills gaps, prepare for the future of work and foster gender equality and diversity. Saadia founded and co-authors the Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, Global Gender Gap Report, and Human Capital Report. Her book, Fifty Million Rising, charts the rise of working women in the Muslim world and was long-listed for the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year 2018. She has been selected as one of the BBC’s 100 Women and won the inaugural FT/McKinsey Bracken Bower Prize for prospective authors under 35. She holds a BA in Economics from Smith College, an MPhil in International Economics from the Graduate Institute of Geneva and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. Her interests include the future of work, the impact of technology on employment, education and skills, income inequality and using big data for public good.