RIYADH, 7th April, 2023 (WAM) – Saudi women are making significant progress in their participation in national development, supported by full rights and legislation that endorse their active role in the construction and development process. The government's policy prioritises women's empowerment and participation, as articulated in the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud's annual speech to the Shura Council, he said, “We will continue our efforts to empower Saudi women and raise their participation in the public and private sectors.”
The government's efforts to increase women's share in the public and private sectors are reflected in the expansion of their participation in the civil service and labour market, based on firm pillars of academic and professional qualification in various fields.
The Saudi Vision 2030 targets to increase women's share in national development have driven their efforts to serve the community and homeland. As a result, the kingdom's index on women's empowerment has significantly increased to 80 points in 2022 compared to 25.63 points in 2019, according to the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law report.
The national efforts towards women's empowerment are rooted in the belief that women have a participatory role in the development process, which aligns with the kingdom's vision for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The establishment of the Family Affairs Council in 2016, which represents various groups in society, including women, in international organisations and bodies, reflects this commitment. The government's proposed legislation and follow-up on recommendations and conventions ratified by the kingdom in international organisations, as well as the unification of efforts of all government sectors concerning family issues, contribute to the progress towards women's empowerment and participation. Overall, the progress of Saudi women towards gender equality is a reflection of the kingdom's efforts towards building a vibrant society, a prosperous economy and an ambitious homeland.
Since the announcement of the Saudi Vision 2030 on 25th April 2016, the Kingdom has made significant progress in its efforts towards women's empowerment policies. These national efforts have included proposing legislation, following up on the recommendations and conventions ratified by the Kingdom in international organisations, and unifying the efforts of all government sectors concerning family issues.
The initiative to empower women was included in the state's general budget as a comprehensive approach to facilitate their access to available resources. This was done in line with the Kingdom's values and principles and to enable women to participate and contribute towards achieving the SDGs.
As part of the objectives of the National Transformation Programme, Saudi women have surpassed their economic participation rate in the labour market by 35.6 percent in the second quarter of 2022, exceeding the index rate from a baseline of 17 percent in 2017 to a target of 31.4 percent in 2025.
The government sectors have worked in parallel and harmoniously to empower women. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has launched several initiatives and programmes, such as stimulating and supporting the balance in the labour market, the training and leadership programme for women employees, and the parallel training initiative. The ministry's initiatives have introduced new approaches to work management, including encouraging remote work, flexible work, and self-employment, and launching the Qiyadyat Platform. The Human Resources Development Fund has also been assigned with supporting and preparing tasks for women, such as employment support programmes, the "Qurrah" programme to support employed mothers by taking care of their children during their working hours, and the "Wosoul" programme, which facilitates women workers' movement to and from work, among other programmes.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has sought to provide more job opportunities for Saudi women, including leadership positions and introduced training programmes, bringing women's participation to 30.49 percent. Future initiatives in several modern, traditional and emerging technological areas have contributed to qualifying 30,232 female trainees and employing 15,311 women.
The ministry has launched several programmes to increase the number of women in leadership positions. These include the Women Leaders in the Digital World Programme and the Women Leaders in Technology Award, as well as the Technical Entrepreneurs Programme, which targets innovative entrepreneurs. In the programme's second edition, female entrepreneurs, comprising 40 percent of the total participants, presented almost 1,806 ideas.
The ministry has also launched the "Digital Giving" initiative to enhance digital literacy and awareness among members of society, with 194,110 female members, along with several events that shed light on women's empowerment. These include the "Women Conference: Empowerment-Excellence", which highlights inspiring women figures.
The Ministry of Justice has empowered women and increased their participation in its career staff by 3,538 female employees. They have also raised the proportion of Saudi women lawyers by licensing 2,136 women lawyers, allocating training programs for women lawyers, benefiting 3,165 female trainees, empowering 703 legal representatives, and enabling the registration of women in the “Reconciliation Centre”.
Various workplaces, specialisations, and job grades have enlisted the country's well-qualified Saudi women to enable them to assume leadership positions, including Dr. Iman bint Habas Al-Mutairi, Deputy Minister of Commerce. The Ministry of Commerce and the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monshaat) has enabled businesswomen to practice commercial activities and benefit from technology in flexible procedures for issuing commercial records and certificates of practising professions.
Monshaat has also initiated the spread of the culture of entrepreneurship, where the number of female beneficiaries has reached 2,769,734, increasing the number of women's enterprises to 45 percent compared to 2022.
Women's participation in the Ministry of Education has increased, and they have held academic, administrative, and leadership positions at the public and university education levels. Empowerment procedures have kept pace with scholarships, training, and development programs, contributing to an increase in classified scientific publication by 91 percent over the past three years, in addition to increasing the citation of scientific papers to 52 percent.
The Ministry of Sport has promoted women's participation in various sports, established 25 women's teams in multiple games for the first time, and organized women's tournaments and hosted international tournaments in the youth and sports sector.
At the health level, the Ministry of Health has supported women through their empowerment at work. They have established specialized women's and children's health clinics to provide all educational, preventive, and treatment services.
Efforts to empower women and enhance their status in society are not limited to these sectors but extend to all military, medical, social, cultural, development, and service institutions to grant women the opportunity to share their ideas and efforts for the prosperity and development of the homeland.
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