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**http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=77104&d=31&m=1&y=2006
Tuesday, 31, January, 2006 (01, Muharram, 1427)
Saudi Women Taking Board Positions
Samar Fatany, Arab News
The involvement of Saudi women in the decision-making process
has been a source of controversy for some time. However, the cultural barriers
that have marginalized women are slowly eroding.
Joining the ranks of women elected to boards of directors are
Dr. Naela Attar and Dr. Najah Alashri who earlier this year garnered board
seats of the Saudi Management Association.
The association has 2,400 members across the Kingdom, 21
percent of them professional women. The Women's Committee of the association
last week held a seminar, called "The Leadership Role of Women on Boards of
Directors," to project their services and objectives to the community and to
honor four women who won seats on the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Board.
Dr. Hanan Alahmadi, head of the association's Riyadh Women's
Committee and an associate professor of health administration at the Institute
of Public Administration, delivered the keynote address, which emphasized the
association's aims to empower and enhance the professional status of women in
leadership roles.
Dr. Hanan said research has proven that the absence of
managerial qualifications and the failure to implement new management methods
are among the major causes for project failure. Therefore, applying managerial
expertise is a basic requirement for the success of any association. Management
today has become a science, due in large part to structural changes in the
world economy, increased competition, continuous market changes as well as the
impact of globalization in the field of business administration.
Dr. Hanan stressed the need for a mechanism to bring together
management professionals and business leaders to exchange views and expertise
to develop more successful business and managerial models.
She said the association hopes to raise awareness about
management skills and to develop the leadership role of women in managerial
positions. She urged women to develop their potential in order to achieve both
economic and social success.
Dr. Naela Attar, head of the Jeddah Women's Committee in
Jeddah and an elected board member of the Saudi Management Association,
welcomed the large audience to the event and outlined the objectives and
services of the association's Women's Committee. She noted the association's
committees across the Kingdom work together to develop the potential of women
in leadership positions. Other objectives include the promotion and development
of managerial research, affording managers the opportunity to take part in the
development process, facilitating the exchange of research between related
organizations and institutions inside and outside the Kingdom as well as
advising groups and assisting them with activities designed to increase
managerial performance.
Dr. Naela gave a brief history of the association and noted
how it allowed women to run for office earlier this year before the JCCI board
elections. As a result, she was elected to a board post along with Dr. Nagah
Alashri who also heads the Research Committee.
Although Saudi women today are highly motivated, Dr. Naela
said they still need to develop their potential in order to achieve the best
economic and social outcome. She outlined the services of various association
committees that organize conferences and conduct workshops to help women reach
their potential and a committee that works with media outlets to promote the
role of women in leadership positions and to counter opposition to societal
development. The association also conducts training programs to develop
managerial skills.
"The Saudi Management Association recognizes the leadership
role of the four JCCI board members Lama Alsolaiman, Madawi Alhasun, Nashwa
Taher and Olfet Qabani," Dr. Naela said in her introduction. "That is why they
are with us today - to talk about their achievements and future role."
The four women did an excellent job in sharing their
inspiring goals, dreams and objectives with the large audience. Alsolaiman said
businesswomen in Saudi Arabia today receive great support. She noted the role
of the Khadija Bint Khowailed Center in promoting Saudi women and providing
them with training and expert business advice.
She explained the services of the center and the effect of
organizing workshops and programs that educate women about their rights and
help them take advantage of available business opportunities.
Madawi Alhasun told the audience that women have the
potential to lead despite problems that still exist. She said women need to be
more determined and to adopt a more positive attitude.
"In order to succeed and achieve our dreams, we must not be
pessimistic," Madawi Alhasun said. "We must work hard to develop our potential."
She asked women to follow her example and dream for a better
future, not allowing nightmarish obstacles to stand in their way. Madawi
Alhasun also advised the women to be innovative and to think of new business
niches that offer needed services to the community rather than flood the market
in already competitive sectors.
Taher and Qabani spoke about available business opportunities
for women in various sectors and briefed them on entry requirements. They
advised them to rely on the Khadija Bint Khowailed Center for legal and
professional advice that can help them access available means to conduct any
business in the Kingdom. They urged them to be informed about government
regulation and to understand the legal requirements before starting any
business.
During a question-and-answer session, audience member Dr.
Nadia Baeshen, who heads the Khadija Bint Khowailed Center, was asked to
comment on obstructions businesswomen face in the Kingdom. She pointed that
despite orders from the Ministry of Labor, many government offices have failed
to provide separate sections so that women can conduct their business without
middlemen.
The Saudi Management Association has given business and
career women a chance for success and access to the knowledge required to
achieve it. Let us hope that its pathfinding efforts encourage more businessmen
and government officials to end the stranglehold on women's aspirations, that
have led to women running for board posts in the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and
encouraged other organizations to allow women to run for board positions, such
as the Saudi Journalist Association, which in 2004 elected Nahid Bashatah and
Nawal Alrashed to its board, and the Saudi Engineers Council that last month
elected Nadia Bakhurji to its 10-member board.
The message to Saudi women is clear. The barriers to success
are coming down; the negative attitudes are changing, and it's time for women
to take a leading role in the Kingdom's growth and economic development.
- Samar Fatany is a radio journalist. She is based in Jeddah.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny.
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