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.