New Delhi: At the G20 Empower conference, which ended on Friday, a representative of Saudi Arabia emphasised the Kingdom's accomplishments in putting policies to support women's empowerment into place.
During India's G20 Presidency, the Ministerial Conference on Women's Empowerment was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, from August 2 to 4.
Ministers and other top G20 officials who are in charge of advancing gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls talked about ways to speed up the process in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
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Dr. Maymouna Al-Khalil, the secretary-general of the Family Affairs Council, represented Saudi Arabia at the meeting and shared with the attendees the best practises that have helped the Kingdom develop one of the highest proportions of female entrepreneurs in the world in recent years.
"Women work side by side with men to achieve Vision 2030's goals. They are seen as crucial contributors to achieving a thriving economy and becoming a part of a nation with aspirations, according to Al-Khalil, speaking to Arab News.
They are well-educated, aware, skilled, and have a lot to offer in terms of expertise to play their roles.
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Since the 2016 launch of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 diversification and transformation plan, female employment rates have skyrocketed.
According to a London-based report from 2021, Saudi Arabia had the third-highest proportion of women in entrepreneurial roles.
"The statistics say it all. According to Al-Khalil, women now run 45 percent of small and medium-sized businesses in the Kingdom and account for 17.7 percent of all entrepreneurs.
The Kingdom is aware of the need to empower current women leaders as well as to prepare the next generation of female leaders.
The Saudi representative discussed a number of initiatives taken under Vision 2030 to close the gender gap in all fields during her speech at the G20 conference on women's empowerment.
She claimed that Saudi Arabia had almost eliminated the gender gap in women's participation in the health and education sectors.
"In the information and communication technology sector, a women's empowerment programme was launched in order to build a digital ecosystem that attracts, embraces, and develops talented women in technology who are capable of contributing to the agenda for digital transformation in the Kingdom."
The program's goals were to increase women's involvement in IT and increase their digital literacy, as Al-Khalil noted, "a common challenge for all nations."
Saudi Arabia has enrolled more than 47,000 women in programmes for digital reskilling and upskilling as a result of its programmes to address it, which has helped to make women up 33 percent of the Kingdom's information and communications technology sector.
Al-Khalil stated that the Kingdom "remains committed to the G20 priorities for (women's) empowerment as it continues to build a future where women stand shoulder to shoulder with men, united in their shared pursuit of a thriving and prosperous nation.
She cited the recent addition of astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni to the International Space Station as one of the most recent examples of the Saudi experience.
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Being the first Arab woman astronaut to visit the ISS, Barnawi made history.
"The sky, or space, is the limit," Al-Khalil declared. "Empowering women is an economic necessity for promoting growth, innovation, and sustainable development, not just a matter of justice. Realising women's full potential opens up doors to prosperity for everyone