MANY Saudi working women are showing they have the grit to prove themselves and deal with challenges in the workplace, thereby playing a key role in the Kingdom's development. Many women have come to realize that the success they seek cannot be realized if they continue to submit themselves to restrictions, according to a report in Al-Riyadh newspaper. I'tidal Al-Najim specializes in business administration and has been working for some time in marketing and telecommunications. “I launched the first package for women in the Kingdom. It was known as the ‘Additional Star' package,” she said. “Aside from my work in designing packages and planning marketing goals for specific sectors, three years ago I established a consultancy company that provides business solutions and advice to small and medium enterprises,” she said. Al-Najim said her line of work relies on her being creative and innovative in all stages of design. “I target young entrepreneurs to help them develop their skills at the professional level. These initiatives are the first in the Kingdom. They include round table meetings, a program entitled ‘Launch your Project' and the first annual ‘Raidah' or Female Pioneer Forum for leading businesswomen,” she said, adding that she wants to make her company a pioneer in this line of work. Speaking about the main obstacles facing Saudi women who want to succeed and be creative, she said, “Saudi women operate in a purely male society that always belittles women's seriousness and does not accept women as able competitors against men. “In its evaluation, our society does not focus on merit but on gender. This is the biggest obstacle that I have faced in my professional life. You have to be determined, able to tolerate pressure and exert double the effort to succeed.” Al-Najim said it is difficult to juggle being a wife, a mother and a working woman. “However, time management and arranging priorities is what matters the most here. There are facilities that businesswomen can access. These are offered by the Ministry of Commerce and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and their like,” she said, adding that there is a need to change society's attitude toward working women and that the male-dominant society is one that will aim to destroy the woman's ambitions. “Saudi society should express more confidence in women. It is society that influences the views of decision-makers in organizations. This, in turn, leads to unfair treatment of women and so we see women being overlooked for promotion,” she said, adding that women will be successful if they are treated with more confidence, as they are loyal and diligent, and have integrity. “There is no magical mixture for success in life. Whoever wants to succeed, whether it is a man or woman, he or she will succeed because success is the fruit of hard work and sacrifice. Success comes with knowledge, understanding and regular effort. “Understanding the economic, political and social situations is a necessity for anyone who wants to achieve his or her goals in life. There has been a change and development in society's attitude toward working women, but it still is not to the desired level,” she added. Meanwhile, Nora Al-Otaibi, a woman who is in charge of digital media and public relations at a major Saudi PR and advertising company, said she started working in new media at a university. “Among the more important goals that I strive to achieve is promoting international days that are usually overlooked like the International Day for Combating Racial Discrimination. I want to see all members of society involved and I want to depict them through new media. I also enjoy organizing voluntary work,” she said. Al-Otaibi said Saudi women are still in need of laws that would support them. “Saudi women will not be able to achieve unless there is legislation supporting them and that has to come from the top,” she said.
