Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Hadaf Academy for Leadership program, an affiliate of the Saudi Human Resources Development Fund, has been nominated for EQUALS in Tech Awards for 2020.

The global awards recognize initiatives that work to bring gender equality to the digital world.

“Hadaf” Academy for Leadership program made it to the top 25 out of the total 340 applicants for the global awards.

The annual awards are organized and presented by the EQUALS Global Partnership — a network of 100+ organizations, companies, UN agencies, and research institutions — whose founding partners include the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), UN Women, International Trade Centre, GSMA, and United Nations University. Together, the partnership works to bring the benefits of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to women and girls and to help women succeed in the tech sector.

The awards are given in the following categories:

Access: Initiatives related to improving women’s and girls’ digital technology access, connectivity, and security

Skills: Initiatives that support the development of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills of women and girls

Leadership (in two subcategories):

1. Initiatives focused on promoting women in decision-making roles within the ICT filed

2. Initiatives promoting women’s leadership in technology small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs).

Hadaf's program has been nominated for the award for promoting women’s leadership in technology in SMEs.

The program, which was launched in May last year, aims to prepare the future leaders in the private sector in line with Saudi Vision 2030 and achieve quality nationalization by providing innovative and high-caliber leaders.

The program provides them with knowledge, IT capabilities, and skills needed for the 21st century labor market, as well as providing human capital for the benefit of national organizations.