By Anas Alyusuf

Saudi Gazette report

PARIS — Forty one percent of the G20 Saudi Secretariat employees are women, G20 Executive Director Reem Al-Frayan said during a virtual conference on Monday.

Al-Frayan shared figures from the Saudi development scenes, spanning sports to politics with the audience in a talk titled “G20: French Saudi Women”, organized by the Saudi Embassy in France.

The talk discussed a range of subjects — tackling everything from automation in tomorrow’s jobs to maternity leave policy.

“We also note great advances for Saudi women in the sports sphere: ⅓ Saudi athletes present at the last Olympic Games were women,” Al-Frayan added.

The Saudi Permanent Delegate to the UNESCO Princess Haifaa Al-Mogrin led the discussion on women’s empowerment.

Princess Haifaa pointed it out that ”a central theme of G20 meetings on which Saudi Arabia presides this year,” reporting impressive figures: 59% of students enrolled in computer sciences degrees are female.

Princess Haifaa said: “A lack of access to opportunities currently costs the global economy 15% of its GDP,” something which can be diminished by a better grasp of future-proof tools and skills, from basic financial literacy to leadership skills.

Dr. Hala Al-Tuwaijri, head of the Women’s Empowerment Team at the G20 and secretary-general of the Saudi Family Affairs Council, broke down the readiness of Saudi women on the socio-economic level to meet goals such as the 30% inclusion rate of women in the workplace by 2030.

“Since 2016, women are 90% beneficiaries of family loans in Saudi Arabia,” Al-Tuwaijri said.

“In 10 years, there are + 35% of women entrepreneurs in the Kingdom. All of this will lead to strict gender equality in terms of rights, services and opportunities.”

The Presidency of the G20 by Saudi Arabia in 2020 is historic. This is for the very first time that a country in the Middle East has hosted the presidency of the G20, Al-Tuwaijri explained.

Dr. Hoda Alhelaissi, a member of the Shoura Council, demonstrates the thoroughness of the sweeping reforms across Saudi Arabia with regards to women.

She said some 5.5 million over the age of 20 have been positively impacted by the society’s transformation.

French deputy member Amelia Lakrafi and VP of the Saudi-French Friendship Committee addressed the global pay gap between men and women.

He stressed the importance of women finding their place in the economy for increased competitiveness and thus development. — SG