On the second day of the
Women Economic Forum 2016
Al Qasimi: the participation of women in leading positions oblige institutions to
assign her in the adminstration
The Saudi Shura Council member
Dr. Lubna Al Ansari, revealed that the decisions and recommendations that have
been endorsed by the Council of Ministers, shows many of the chievements and
decisions that have been implemented have witnessed several modifications with
the support of all members.
Ansari reviewed that the European Parliament report, which noted that women
need big support through systems and legislation confirm the need for her participation,
stressing that the Kingdom has achieved a great progress in the empowerment of
women was referred to in the report of 2015 for the international development,
pointing that there are many challenges in the fields of health and education
jobs that need efforts to reconsider them.
This was in the first session of the second day of the Women Economic Forum
2016, which was opened on the evening of Wednesday, November 23 and continued
until Thursday, November 24, Her Highness Princess, Abeer bintFaisal bin Turki,
wife of the Prince of the Eastern Province, and organized by Asharqia Chamber
titled «Saudi women .. the
power of effect to lead the change », in Sheraton Dammam Hotel amid a big attendance
of local and Gulf and Arab female figures, Ansari was optimisted about the progress of Saudi women in the fields of
health and education in the Development Report 2015, in which the Kingdom was
ranked 105 on the empowerment of women in the field of education and ranked 128
on health, expected that the 2020 report will witness a big difference
regarding Saudi women in the Kingdom.
Regarding the efforts of the Saudi Shura Council and the support of women
legally and observatory, Ansari said (if
there are several efforts and systems that support women and also many of the suggestions
that have been implemented and others we demanded to activate such as the
disability system, as we discussed the civil system, citizenship and
nationality systems, and made a suggestion for national unity).
Among the recommendations that have been successful, according to Ansari regarding
equality in housing and fund real estate development and the recommendation of
equal admissions numbers in university specialties such as medicine and
engineering in addition to physical education and family ID card to the wife like the
husband, expecting that the second of the Council will witness filling of legal
gaps and empower women, in line with 2030.
For its part, stressed the deputy head of the Women Union Association in
Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, Sheikha Majd bint Saud Al Qasimi, stressed the participation
of women in leading positions by obliging institutions and companies to assign
her in administrations, pointing that women in UAE occupy in the, about 15% of
the commercial councils and nearly
66% of the jobs of the public sector and 30% of leading positions for
businesswomen and businesswomen projects by approximately 45 to 50 billion
dollars, stressing the need to put policies and strategies that directly affect
the role of women economic institutions.
Al Qasimi linked between women approaching leading positions and their knowledge, skills, saying that women getting leading positions and participation in the progress
and development process next to the man by continuing to work towards more
knowledge and skills and learning about the experiences around, pointing to the
importance of such a forum in increasing the knowledge and skills of women, praising
Saudi women and their role not only in the economic field, but also in various
levels, expecting a successful future women in Saudi Arabia in the next stage.
The session was titled the woman for the future of the woman, seeking to highlight the most important
policies and initiatives the women have to support to get to the full empowerment
of women, as the empowerment of women at all levels is a major factor in
increasing the rate of economic participation.
The Second Session: a network of associations of businesswomen, banks and institutions to
support women issues
In the second session, titled "Women a fortune of a nation", chaired by Dr. Souad Al Arifi,
the academic in King Abdul Aziz University of the women, family and childhood manager in the
University of Arab states Ambassador
Inas Makkawi reviewed the strategies by
the university to support anti violence against women, saying: (the daily follow
of many of the files of women in the
Arab region, we have put a logo from the idea of community empowerment of
women, not women empowerment), pointing that enabling her according to this logo
needed a whole vision of the policies towards the social classification and the improvement of
specific programs for each goal separately, as part of the modification of the
legal procedures in line with the general framework of the goals to be
approached.
Makkawi
stressed the conviction of the decision makers in the Arab region to community
empowerment of women, noting to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, taking several procedures
in favor of women, pointing that the empowerment of women is to enhance the
community, calling for more balanced policies and legislation to become sustainable
progress issue.
Regarding the Arab League efforts in women issues, especially businesswomen, Makkawi
said that the Arab League has launched a network of associations of businesswomen,
banks and institutions, to support women issues, noting that the network was
launched at the beginning of the year 2016 in collaboration with the United
Nations (UN).
Makkawi stressed the main role of women
by supporting hersels, saying: We compare between Arab women and women
internationally and we noticed that there must be a modern, sustainable improvement
strategies, and we look forward in the Arab strategy to the institutional
partnership with the religion figures in particular, and men in general,
concluding by stressing the need of the support of the political leaders and media for the empowerment of
women, pointing that the of the excuse of
social obstacles to the empowerment of women did not come from history.
Lack of community role models
For her part, member of the municipal
council of the secretariat of the Eastern Region, Dr Sumaya Al Sulaiman, said that
the lack of community role models and the absence of effective stories and the
fear of the initiative has a major impact on the disability of empowerment of
women, noting that education has a role in the context of women empowerment,
emphasizing that the work environment is more prepared for men, which according
to her expression causes women crash with the work environment, stressing that
what delays women more showing her lack of knowledge and weaknesses, saying: the
search for the imperfections is not a shame and knowledge is a good thing.
The member of the Executive Council of young businesses in Easern Region,
Areej Al Qahtani, that the conviction of the woman starts with the
implementation of her work away from any obstacle, pointing that the obstacles are
the same for either men or women, by almost 90%, but for women they are more, urging
that the woman should seek proving herself without a fight the man, especially
as she is a part of him, and al Qahtani noted to the need for the qualifying of women in the
work environment through the proper training they need to enable them in the
workplace, noting that the professional efficiency of the women to help them
overcome the obstacles in the work environment.
The third and final
session: strategies to increase the participation of women in the labor
market with about 23 percent
With
the launch of the final session of the forum, titled Saudi women 2030, the adviser deputy of women work programs in the
Ministry of Labor and Social Development Arabia, Dr. Faten Al Sari revealed,
about the strategy prepared by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development for
the empowerment of women such as working
on the reorganization of the labor market and finding proper jobs
to women, as well as the ministry stating new legislation to protect the rights
of women, according to a full vision proved by the ministry in related to women
issues.
Al
Sari said that the ministry is open several fields to
Saudi women, noting that the decision is now up to the women themselves to work
or not work, and noted that the current strategy of the ministry will continue
until 2020, expecting that women will achieve greater participation in the
labor market in about 23%,
and that the ministry has prepared a methodical schedule in coordination with the Ministry, in addition to the decision of night
work and providing the appropriate and
safe environment, revealing the programs studied
by the ministry of the directed
settlement to achieve the principle of equality at work between men and women
opportunities programs, but there will
be women discrimination over
men in the place environment.
The
Assistant Secretary General for Businesswomen Council of Saudi Chambers, Dr.
Reem Al Farian stressed the need to raise the participation rate of women in
small and medium institutions, pointing to the low percentage of the
contribution of these projects in the domestic gross production, despite its ability to include at
least 67% of the labor,
noting that vision 2030 aims to increase the opportunities and overcome the
obstacles in front of small and medium institutions sector.
Al Farian
pointed to the challenges facing women, particularly in the finance and necessary
procedures and conditions to access the market, and how to attract qualified
human resources, noting that 10% of those access business pioneering fail in the first two
years.
Al Farian stressed on the importance of identifying
the concerns of young women and knowing their problems in the labor market,
noting that the Council of Saudi Chambers has introduced a new strategy for economic
empowerment of women based on the
participation of the national committees and the participation of decision makers
and the improvement of women business centers and the c improvement enters in
the remote areas, saying: We are currently looking forward to have businesswomen in the Shura
Council to transfer the vision and the demands and suggestions of businesswomen.
And
finally for her part the social development adviser Walaa Al Nahas, expressed
her optimism of the increased participation of women with the improved level of
work culture, but noted at the same time that there are three challenges some are
related to the improvement of self skills, someare related to the community
around her, and also the challenge of competition, Nahas
urged women to the need for training and qualification to truly deserve the title
of a pioneering or a businesswoman, also to be keen to be in courses how to
create a small projects and improve them.
