Chaired by Al-Nahda Society and Hosted by Princess Nourah University, the National Dialogues on Saudi Women Kick Off

Al-Nahda Society held the first session of the National Dialogues on Saudi Women for the W20 (Women 20) Engagement Group, hosted by Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University and sponsored by KPMG. This initiative coincided with Al-Nahda Society’s presidency of the W20 Engagement Group.

The series aims to highlight the priorities of Saudi women and support their economic empowerment, thereby contributing to the development of policies that influence financial inclusion, digital inclusion, labor market participation, and women’s engagement in entrepreneurship.

The event began with an introductory speech about the G20 and the W20 Engagement Group delivered by Dr. Reem Al-Furyan, Executive Director for Supporting the W20 Engagement Groups in Saudi Arabia. This was followed by Ms. Salma Al-Rashed, Sherpa of the W20 Engagement Group, who provided an overview of the W20 in 2020 and outlined the priorities of the presidency.

Dr. Hala Al-Tuwaijri, Secretary-General of the Council of Family Affairs, presented a summary of the National Strategy for Women and Their Empowerment and announced Riyadh’s designation as the “Capital of Arab Women.”

The first dialogue session, titled “The Current Status of Saudi Women in the W20 Focus Areas: Labor Market Inclusion and Digital Inclusion,” was presented by Ms. Hind Al-Zahid from the Ministry of Civil Service, Ms. Lamia Al-Arfaj from the General Organization for Social Insurance, Ms. Tasneem Al-Ghamdi from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, and Ms. Dima Al-Yahya, Advisor on Innovation and Digital Economy. The session was moderated by Dr. Thoraya Obaid, Chair of the W20 Engagement Group.

The second session, “The Current Status of Saudi Women in the W20 Focus Areas: Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship,” featured Ms. Noor Al-Abdulkarim from the Social Development Bank, Ms. Afnan Al-Babteen from Monsha’at, and Ms. Amal Dakhan from the Global Entrepreneurship Network Saudi Arabia. This session was moderated by Dr. Suzanne Al-Yahya, Assistant Professor in Graphic Design and Multimedia at Princess Nourah University.

The third session focused on monitoring and follow-up mechanisms, featuring Dr. Aseel Al-Mansour from the General Authority for Statistics, Dr. Abeer Al-Harbi from the National Observatory for Women, and Ms. Jawaher Al-Sudairy from Al-Nahda Society.

Participants then divided into four closed roundtable discussions, each lasting two hours, covering financial inclusion, labor market inclusion, digital inclusion, and women’s participation in entrepreneurship. The outcomes of these discussions were later presented to all attendees in the main hall.

The event concluded with a speech by Her Royal Highness Princess Moudi bint Khalid, Chairwoman of Al-Nahda Society, highlighting the importance of these dialogues. She noted that future sessions would be held in Jeddah and Dammam to gather more recommendations, which are expected to have a significant impact on policy-making and recommendations related to women’s economic empowerment.

Princess Moudi also invited participants to submit further ideas and opinions via the dedicated email: Dialogues@alnahda.org.

In this context, Khulood Mousa, Partner at KPMG and Head of Diversity & Inclusion at KPMG (the sponsor of the national dialogues), emphasized that KPMG Fawzan & Partners in Saudi Arabia actively participated in these national dialogues on Saudi women as part of its strategy and plans to empower women and enhance their role across various sectors.