International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8, is about celebrating the women of the world, from the landmark filled cities to the remotest villages. This occasion is also a time for us to reflect on the social, economic and political achievements of women and how far we have come as nations in empowering women within our societies.

Achieving true equality for women will be a long and hard road. But we must remain optimistic, and not be daunted by the size of the challenge we face. At Alwaleed Philanthropies empowering women is at the center of our cause to shape a more equal, compassionate and tolerant world. This commitment starts in our home country of Saudi Arabia – from promoting greater political participation for women, to generating a greater understanding of women’s rights, and championing women’s roles in the workplace.

This year has been a momentous year for Alwaleed Philanthropies, we recently launched our Waeya app in partnership with Waeya Legal which is an initiative to educate women and youth in Saudi Arabia on their legal rights. We have also joined the UN Women’s “Making every woman and girl count” initiative which aims to improve the production, accessibility and use of gender statistics around the world. Through this initiative we are directly addressing the need for gender data. This lack of data hampers adequate monitoring and risks the loss of significant gains in terms of global commitments in gender equality.

In Saudi Arabia, women’s participation in the development of the Kingdom is a key aspect of Vision 2030. Recently the Kingdom lifted a ban on women driving that is already beginning to help women become more financially stable and enabling them to play a bigger role in the economic and social diversification of the Kingdom in line with Vision 2030. Not content with getting behind the wheel, women in Saudi Arabia are also the driving force in prominent international, governmental and business roles in the Kingdom. Women are now running for municipal councils and participating in the workforce, especially in the fields of law and business. In the education sector, women now outnumber men in the Saudi university system. This year also saw the recent appointment of Saudi Arabia’s first female ambassador, Princess Reema Bint Bandar, as ambassador to the US which marks another milestone in the journey to gender equality.

In the UAE, the Year of Tolerance is a time to reflect on fostering women’s roles for the inclusive development of the UAE. As the late Sheikh Zayed once said: “A woman is half of society; any country which pursues development should not leave her in poverty or illiteracy.” Looking at it from this perspective, no nation in the world can achieve its real objective of development unless it empowers its women.

The launch of the UAE’s Gender Balance Council in 2017 has played a significant role in the inclusion of Emirati women in society. The government’s support for the gender equality cause has paid off in dividends as the UAE is now ranked the highest for gender equality in the GCC, according to the Human Development Report published in 2018 by the United Arab Emirates University in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program.

Princess Lamia Bint Majed Al-Saud is Secretary General and member of the Board of Trustees at Alwaleed Philanthropies.