Kuwait: Workplace Diwaniya for Skills & Mentorship

Workplace Diwaniya for Skills & Mentorship, Kuwait

Context

In Kuwait, the diwaniya (ديوانية, also spelled dewaniya; pronounced dee‑wahn‑EE‑ya) is a social reception space linked to the household and closely related to the regional majlis but locally specific in name and norms. Traditionally a reception hall attached to a home, the diwaniya hosts gatherings—often in the evening with gahwa served from a dallah into finjan cups, an expected greeting order, and seating that can signal seniority—where people discuss community issues, share news, and build influence, with routines shifting during Ramadan. Formal diwaniyas often open mid‑week and informal versions animate weekends, but access commonly follows relationship or invitation norms and varies by gender, class, sect, and neighborhood, and some hosts set clear accessibility expectations for guests. In short, many in Kuwait treat it as a trusted forum for turning proximity into participation, though practices vary by family, neighborhood, profession, citizenship status, and generation. *

That social practice is being adapted into secular, scheduled workplace forums that differ from home or electoral diwaniyas in venue, invitation norms, mixed‑gender expectations, and purpose. Some business associations and firms have adapted the format into recurring “workplace diwaniyas” that blend Kuwaiti hospitality with modern development aims. The American Chamber of Commerce in Kuwait, for instance, runs a quarterly Women in Business Diwaniya with measurable outputs like a DEI “matrix” and mentorship actions; during the pandemic, similar forums moved online with telecom support, showing how the format flexes to hybrid work. * * *

Meet the Company/Cultural Tradition

Gulf Bank, one of Kuwait’s leading financial institutions, institutionalized the diwaniya at work through its Women of Wisdom (WOW) program, an internal series launched in 2017. WOW convenes monthly diwaniyas for female employees to network across departments, exchange experience, and surface practical ways to navigate career and life demands. The bank positions the diwaniya as a standing, skills‑building platform rather than a one‑off event. * *

The cadence has been steady. In 2024, Gulf Bank continued the monthly sessions, including a focus on mindfulness and resilience as part of professional growth; in 2025 the bank highlighted interactive WOW gatherings led by external coaches, designed especially for early‑career talent, and reiterated that WOW’s aim is to cultivate leadership and stronger cross‑bank connections. * * *

Inside and beyond WOW, Gulf Bank has tied inclusion to strategy, noting that women comprised roughly one‑third of leadership roles in 2023 and that the bank removed gender‑based differences in benefits in 2021, aligning with the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. The bank’s communications link monthly WOW diwaniyas to a healthier work environment and productivity. * *

The Ritual

Minute	Scene	Purpose
0–5	Arrival and open registration; participants add their names/roles to a shared board	Equalize introductions; widen weak ties
5–10	Host welcome and theme (e.g., resilience, leadership micro‑skills)	Set a clear learning focus for the hour
10–25	Short expert segment (internal or invited coach) with a practical exercise	Skill primer; move beyond discussion into doing
25–40	Small‑circle breakout (3–5 people) to apply the exercise to a real workplace challenge	Peer problem‑solving; cross‑silo insight
40–50	Plenary “one takeaway, one ask” from each circle	Collective learning; normalize help‑seeking
50–55	Sign‑ups for mentorship/sponsorship or follow‑up clinics	Convert insight into next actions
55–60	Close: recap plus date/theme for the next diwaniya	Sustain the monthly cadence

(This flow reflects how Gulf Bank frames WOW as recurring, interactive sessions that mix knowledge sharing with practical application; recent WOW installments emphasize coaching‑led, engaging formats for early‑career employees. * * The diwaniya concept itself is an established Kuwaiti gathering tradition. *)

Why It Works

The workplace diwaniya adapts a locally recognized open forum while clarifying that access in traditional settings is often bounded by relationships or invitations, and it turns the familiar format into a repeatable, outcome‑focused development session. In Kuwait, diwaniyas often feature cross‑generational exchange and candid advice, yet host authority, seniority norms, and wasta can shape who speaks and is heard; at work, rotating facilitation, time‑boxed equal turns, and anonymous “asks” aim to build trust across hierarchy and job families. *

Monthly cadence supports habit formation and shared norms that make it easier to speak up over time. Research on team effectiveness underscores that communication patterns and psychological safety—not just individual brilliance—predict performance. Summaries of Google’s “Project Aristotle” and related reviews identify psychological safety as a key factor in high‑performing teams, where people speak up, take interpersonal risks, and learn faster. A well‑run diwaniya is designed to support psychological safety through short segments, equal turns, and visible next steps, and its effects should be tested rather than assumed. * *

For inclusion goals, structured networking plus mentorship pathways are especially useful for women, who often report less access to senior leaders, and the adapted format should explicitly address gendered histories and citizen/expatriate hierarchies that shape who is heard. McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace analysis points to formal mentorship/sponsorship and outcome tracking as practices common to top performers. Positioning WOW as a standing forum where connections become commitments (e.g., sign‑ups, follow‑ups) is intended to help close those access gaps. * *

Outcomes & Impact

Gulf Bank’s leaders explicitly connect the WOW diwaniya to a broader inclusion strategy, citing monthly gatherings as a mechanism to address internal challenges and promote professional development for women. In parallel with these efforts, the bank reported that women held around 33% of leadership roles in 2023 and that gender‑based differences in benefits were eliminated in 2021, both framed as strengthening productivity and service quality. While multiple initiatives contribute to these results, WOW is described by the bank as one of several flagship initiatives rather than a sole driver. * * *

Continuity is another signal of impact. The bank has kept the diwaniya cadence active across 2024–2025, adding interactive sessions with external experts and emphasizing early‑career development, evidence that the format is not a campaign but an embedded ritual. Media coverage in Kuwait has reported both supportive and skeptical viewpoints on workplace diwaniyas, reflecting ongoing discussion about gender mixing, naming, and the balance between tradition and corporate adaptation. * * *

Lessons for Global Team Leaders

Principle	Why It Matters	How to Translate
Anchor in a native form	Diwaniya feels authentically Kuwaiti, so participation is natural	Find your locale’s equivalent open forum and adapt it to development aims
Make it recurring, not episodic	Habits, not off‑sites, shift culture	Fix a monthly slot; rotate themes and facilitators
Blend input with application	Short coaching plus small‑circle work builds skill and trust	Time‑box expert segments; require one applied takeaway
Convert talk to commitments	Mentorship/sponsorship sign‑ups close the “access” gap	Capture follow‑ups on a shared board; track matches and outcomes
Measure inclusion, not just attendance	Top performers track mentorship and progression	Pair diwaniya participation with promotion/retention data (intersectional lens)

Implementation Playbook

Name and frame your forum (e.g., “Workplace Diwaniya”) with a clear purpose and a 60‑minute run‑of‑show, credit the Kuwaiti origins of the diwaniya and consult local culture‑bearers, assign accountable owners (program lead, facilitation lead, comms owner, and data owner), cap group size at 12–20 with circles of 3–5, estimate the all‑in per‑participant time and materials cost, source hospitality from local vendors where possible, and, outside Kuwait, consider a locally appropriate name rather than “diwaniya.”
Recruit a small facilitation pool (HR plus two line leaders) and train them to keep segments short and inclusive, open with a two‑minute safety script (voluntary participation, right to pass, no recording), ensure sessions occur during paid working time in line with policy, provide two time slots (including early/late) scheduled outside prayer times and Ramadan/Eid peaks, welcome both Kuwaiti and non‑Kuwaiti staff with accessible and bilingual (Arabic/English) materials, offer an equivalent development alternative for anyone who opts out, and include HR/Legal review of communications and data practices.
Curate monthly micro‑themes (resilience, feedback, sponsorship) and use internal experts for 10‑minute primers as the MVP, adding external coaches only as needed to reduce costs by 30–50%.
Design simple artifacts: a sign‑in board, takeaway cards, and a QR code for mentorship/sponsorship sign‑ups, limiting collected data to name, role, and contact, publishing a privacy notice, and deleting sign‑up data after 90 days unless the participant renews consent.
Publish a one‑page launch note before kickoff and a one‑page recap after each session, stating voluntary/opt‑out language, time/place/norms (equal turns, no forced sharing), feedback anonymity with a 90‑day retention window, cultural credit to the Kuwaiti diwaniya tradition, and next dates to sustain momentum.
Track outcomes with a simple chain—equal turns and mentorship sign‑ups → psychological safety and sponsorship → higher help‑seeking and progression—and use a short psychological safety scale (4 items, 5‑point), a brief belonging check (3 items), mentorship tie counts, and HRIS metrics (% multi‑speaker meetings, matches per quarter, internal mobility and promotion rates for women, and regretted attrition), with baselines before launch and a stepped‑wedge pilot design (baseline two weeks prior, post at 48 hours, and follow‑ups at 8 and 24 weeks) and thresholds such as +0.3 on safety, ≥50% attendees submit one ask, and ≥30% convert to a mentorship within eight weeks.
Pilot the format with 2–4 Kuwait teams for 6–8 weeks (2–3 sessions) using facilitation pre‑briefs and debriefs, set success thresholds (≥70% voluntary opt‑in, +0.3 on the safety scale, and ≥20% rise in cross‑team replies), define stop rules (<40% opt‑in, any safety incident, or a negative safety pulse), and offer a hybrid join‑in option where needed. *

Common Pitfalls

Treating it as compulsory or as an open mic. Without a short exercise, a clear “ask,” and a right‑to‑pass protocol with confidentiality and no recording, a diwaniya can drift and erode trust.
Leadership no‑show. The format flattens hierarchy, but rotate senior presence, keep leader airtime to 20% or less, and pair a female co‑facilitator to maintain sponsorship while reducing power‑distance effects.
Collecting attendance, not evidence. Failing to link sessions to mentorship and progression blunts impact.

Reflection & Call to Action

Rituals stick when they feel local, useful, and repeatable. Kuwait’s diwaniya offers all three: an open, culturally fluent frame that companies can steer toward connection and skill‑building. Gulf Bank’s WOW series shows how a monthly workplace diwaniya can serve as a platform for developing leaders with a concise, practice‑oriented format.

If your team is in Kuwait, adapt the core format directly; if you are outside Kuwait, credit the Kuwaiti diwaniya, consult local culture‑bearers, consider using a locally appropriate name, and keep a predictable hour, a practical exercise, and a commitment board. Keep it humble, keep it human, and keep it monthly. Consistent participation will do the rest.