DAMMAM: Women make up 44 percent of all doctorate holders in the Kingdom, 41 percent of holders of master's degrees, and 60 percent of all students in higher education, according to Khoula Al-Kurai' of the King Fahd National Center for Tumors at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh. Speaking at the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry's annual businesswomen's function over the weekend, Al-Kurai' lauded the work of Princess Jawahir Bint Naif in promoting women's programs and activities to involve them in the country's development, as well as the work of the region's Chamber of Commerce. “The Chamber has not just helped to strengthen the part played by businesswomen in Eastern Province and encourage them in contributing to the economy, but also in its social role in created greater interaction between the chamber and wider society,” she said. “Through their diligence, ability and exceptional education, Saudi women have started knocking at the doors of numerous professions that were only a short time ago the exclusive domain of men,” Al-Kurai' said. “The first appointment of a woman to a leading position at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce clearly shows that with their intelligence and ability in tandem with the teachings of their religion, the foundations of their culture and the requirements of modern life, Saudi women have been able to assert their role and extend it to the private sector.” Hind Al-Zahid, head of the Businesswomen's Center at the Eastern Province Chamber, said that this third consecutive annual businesswomen's function was the result of continual contact with society aiming to promote communication between the chamber and women in the region, and also to promote contacts between the region's businesswomen and their counterparts in the rest of the country. “This meeting is a great opportunity to boost our relations generally and individually,” she said.”
