As part of the USAID-funded Tawazon – Promoting the Voice and Leadership of Women activity, ARDD designed the Arab Women Leadership Academy (AWLA) to be rooted in local contexts while drawing from international best practices. AWLA is a key initiative under Tawazon, serving as a comprehensive capacity-building program aimed at enhancing women’s competencies and opportunities. The program seeks to amplify women’s voices and promote leadership by providing ambitious women in Jordan from diverse backgrounds with the practical tools needed to start and sustain their leadership journey of impact.

AWLA aims to foster women’s leadership competencies to enhance their contribution to civic engagement, political participation, and governance, within the public and private sectors, and civil society. It also aims to enhance women’s capacities to exert leadership in their public and private spheres; it cultivates women´s leadership and networking capacities, empowering them to build support within their families and communities, creating an enabling environment that will allow them to make their voices heard.

Within three years (2024, 2025, 2026) AWLA will target 500 women from all over Jordan, from different sectors, backgrounds, expertise, and age groups. AWLA is based upon a leadership competencies framework aimed at improving women’s opportunities and success in leadership roles.

The framework was benchmarked against the best national and international leadership training programs and carefully customized for the women in Jordan, integrating different approaches, and combining a multiplicity of aspects related to leadership.