Poor representation of Saudi women at leadership conference

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

MANAMA - A Bahraini minister caused a furor among some of women delegates at a conference in the city when he claimed that the reason for women not being able to become leaders is that other women refuse to work under them.

The statement was made by Dr. Majeed Al-Alawi, Bahraini Minister of Labor at the Second Annual Regional Conference held Sunday at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Manama, Bahrain.

The theme of the conference was “Women and leadership”. The conference’s panel included Najar Al-Baharna, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Mai Al-Khalifa, Minister of Culture and Information. The conference was organized by BNP Paribas.
“One of the main reasons for the lack of women in leadership positions is that most women cannot accept working under the leadership of another woman,” said Al-Alawi in his speech.

He said that religion had nothing to do with it.
“It is for cultural reasons; not due to any religious or political reasons. The government is keen to put women into the labor market. For that reason, it has decided that employing a single woman is equivalent to employing to two men in Bahrainization.”

However, Dr. Reem Badran, Vice President of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce and head of the investment committee at the Arab League, challenged the minister’s view.
“It was women who helped me in the elections for a position at the chamber,” she said.
“This meeting can help us take women to even more leadership positions, especially in the private sector. The problem is how to persuade men to give women a chance to prove themselves,” she added.

She said that Saudi women have made great strides in society.“Saudi women are highly educated and they can succeed when assigned to management positions. Many of them are running their own businesses,” she said.

However, there was poor representation of Saudi women at the event.

Amal Al-Zahrani, a member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), who was perhaps the only Saudi female to attend the conference, told Saudi Gazette, she was shocked by the absence of Saudi women.
“Saudi women should have attended such an important event that discusses women’s issues,” she said.

She added that it was perhaps a norm for Saudi women to prefer to keep away from such meetings.
“We have held several meetings at the JCCI but their absence was noticeable. In fact, these forums and conferences are of great importance to Saudi women because of their knowledge of cultural and scientific fields,” she added.

Al-Zahrani said that she was told that a number of Saudi women would attend the conference, but she found herself alone.
“Their absence has really raised a big question mark over their demands and their contribution,” she added.

The conference was followed by various workshops that covered women in politics, education, media and business.

As for politics, participants concluded that women need to be exposed to political processes. However, lack of skills, knowledge and willingness among women to participate were all identified as obstacles.

Participants at the education workshop discussed the gap between the outcomes of universities and the labor market. They called for changes to the education system.

In another workshop that discussed women and business, the participants believed that the greatest obstacles facing women are family issues and time.

The participants at the media workshop said a committee should be formed, linked to the Gulf Cooperation Council to help women take leadership positions in various industries.