The Minister of Trade and Industry has appointed two women to the Board of Directors at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Hana Bint Abdul Mohsen Al-Zuheir and Samira Abdul Rahman Al-Suweigh now become the only two female members of the board after women candidates failed to gain a single seat from the 12 available at last month's elections. Trade Minister Abdullah Zainal announced the remaining six names Sunday, thereby completing the 18-member board. The other four ministerial appointments were: Mohammed Sa'ad Al-Farraj; Salman Mohammed Al-Jashi; Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al-Zamil, and Nasser Saeed Al-Hajiri. Where local businesswomen had been pinning their hopes on one female being appointed, the announcements are also notable for not including any of the three women who stood for election in December. The highest number of votes for runners Su'aad Al-Zayedi, Fawzia Khan and Dina Al-Faris went to the latter with a mere 77, compared to winning candidates who all obtained between 337 and 833. The former two managed a paltry 17 and nine respectively. “The appointment of the two businesswomen to the board of is indeed a manifestation of the government's acknowledgment of the vital role and contribution of Saudi businesswomen in the country's private sector,” said Adnan Al-Naeem, Secretary General of the Chamber. “The chamber is now reorganizing itself to find out how it can respond to the needs of the private sector, particularly the female sector, now that we have two capable women on the board,” Al-Naeem said. Al-Naeem said the two women board members would be given key roles in shaping new policies and the Chamber's strategies for this year and beyond. Lack of experience Following their disappointment at the outcome of the Chamber elections, women candidates attributed their failure to a number of factors. “There is a big difference between male and female candidates in terms of financial resources and contacts,” they said. “The male candidates went into the elections in a position of great strength and got what they wanted,” said Al-Zayedi. “We need to set up a high committee for the next elections to oversee each step of the election process and check the behavior of candidates during the election campaign in the way they gather voters.” Al-Faris cited a “lack of experience and insufficient awareness of election culture were the two main reasons behind the failure of the women candidates” and Al-Karri urged the minister to “give women their chance” via the appointed seats. “If it's not to be one of us three who are appointed then I hope that an appointment is given to another woman,” Al-Karri said. The minister would appear to have surpassed expectations by appointing not one woman, but two. New appointee Hana Al-Zuheir, who is the Chief Executive of the Prince Sultan Small Project Fund, praised the trade minister at a recent gathering designed to put pressure on the minister to use his six appointments in furthering the cause of businesswomen, saying he would choose “the most capable person of representing us on the Chamber board”. “The selection of the appointee should take a different direction to serve small business projects and the trade and service sectors,” Al-Zuheir said. “The time has come for women to reach an important position on the board and push women forward in all economic fields.” Women at the Kingdom's Chambers of Commerce have come under the spotlight following their relative success at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce elections last year. Although only one runner was directly elected – Lama Al-Soleiman - she was subsequently made deputy chairman, the first time a female has gained the post. Two other women were also placed on the Board through direct ministerial appointment. Walk the walk Of the Dammam-based Chamber's work in general, newly-elected board member Fahd Al-Sharee' has called for action, not words. ?“It will need more than just speeches and votes to push the province's economy forward. It will require greater work,” Al-Sharee' warned, while Abdul Hadi Al-Zoubi urged the new Board to employ an “open-door” policy.? “We need to accept everyone's opinions and work with the constructive ones,” Al-Zoubi said. “We need to break through the bureaucracy which holds creative ideas back and impedes business. The new Board should work as a team in the interests of those who voted.” The completion of the board now leaves only the selection of its Chairman and vice chairmen, due to be decided at the end of this week, or the beginning of the next. The leading candidates for the post are said to be current chairman Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid, Ibrahim Al-Jumeih, Abdul Hadi Al-Zu'bi and Khalid Al
