RIYADH — President of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) Dr. Hala Al-Tuwaijiri stressed that Saudi Arabia has launched many initiatives and removed obstacles in front of Saudi women to ensure their access to job opportunities. Dr. Al-Tuwaijiri's confirmation came while participating in the Saudi Arabia Budget Forum 2023, which was held in Riyadh. The forum has noted that the Kingdom has been committed in its Vision 2030 in empowering women and increasing their participation in the labor market. She said that Saudi Arabia, within the past 5 years, has made comprehensive reforms in regard of empowering women. It has established a legislative system to support and empower women, such as establishing anti-harassment law, alongside with conducting several reforms in many laws, including the labor law. Saudi Arabia is committed with several international agreements, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Dr. Al-Tuwaijiri pointed out that Saudi Arabia is one of the most advanced countries in the indicators of gender parity in education. She stressed that during the upcoming months, Saudi Arabia will witness more reports issued from the United Nations, which would include praise for the progress made in the Kingdom in regard to empowering women. From her side, May Al-Muzaini, CEO of the Arab Center for Women's Empowerment (Nesf), stated that Saudi women are the first in education at the level of the Middle East and North Africa, and hold 10th rank globally. She noted that, despite the advanced ranks of Saudi women in education, it still lacks practical experience in the labor market. Al-Muzaini said that the initiative of women's leadership training aims in raising the percentage of Saudi women in leadership positions. The women's leadership training initiative has succeeded in graduating more than 1,000 women, as well as training more than 3,000 women within the Parallel Training initiative. She noted that the number of women who are registered in the National Platform for Saudi Women Leaders (Qiyadyat) has reached 13,000. Al-Muzaini confirmed that the targeted training for Saudi women would generate revenues of $4 billion by 2030.
