Nadia Ba'shin, the head of Social Responsibility at Dallah Al-Baraka and a professor at King Abdulaziz University, has said that the lack of Saudi women at the Jeddah Economic Forum was not planned but was due instead to the lack of Saudi women's prowess in the fields under discussion. “I don't think it was intended on anyone's part, as we've seen Saudi women at the forum in previous years, but the specialist fields being addressed at this year's forum are simply not something Saudi women have great knowledge of or ability in,” Ba'shin said. Observers have this week expressed their dismay that none of the over three dozen speakers scheduled to address the forum were Saudi females. “I hope this doesn't suggest they'll be ignoring women at future forums, and that they realize the mistake as soon as possible and select a Saudi woman who will do us justice,” said Nadia Bakharji, an engineer who spoke at the forum in 2005, adding that she was “surprised” not to receive an invitation. Businesswoman Izdihar Batoubara asked: “Where is Nahid Tahir the first bank director general, and where is Lama Al-Solaiman, the first vice president of a chamber of commerce, and where are all the other Saudi women who've distinguished themselves in economic affairs?” Batoubara questioned whether the absence of women speakers was an “oversight” or a deliberate move, adding: “If there aren't any women speakers in the future I shan't be attending”. Abdul Aziz Bin Saqr, head of the Gulf Research Center which is jointly organizing the event, said that the Gulf Research Center did not discriminate between men and women, and that speakers were chosen “in accordance with their fields of specialty and subjects to be addressed”. “It must be remembered that the forum has a global dimension,” he said. “The organizers have tried to find a balance between guests from the Kingdom and abroad to bring in diversity. Women have a significant part to play at the forum, and there will be female academics present who will have the chance to table questions and speak from the floor during discussions.”
