Saudi Arabia participated in a high-level regional dialogue focused on enhancing women's economic participation alongside government representatives from Gulf states, including the UAE and Bahrain.
The event, held in Dubai on June 17–18, was organized by the UAE Gender Balance Council in cooperation with the World Bank.
The sessions and workshops featured the exchange of expertise and successful policy models to advance gender equality in the workforce.
Representing the Kingdom, Female Enablement General Director at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development Dr. Hanadi Al-Hokair joined a panel alongside her counterparts from the UAE and Bahrain. She presented the Kingdom's practical strategies to boost women's engagement in the labor market and highlighted recent policy reforms and milestones in Saudi Arabia's economic empowerment of women.
Interactive sessions led by World Bank experts explored childcare policies that support women's employment, global best practices for integrating women into the digital economy, and reforms that facilitate women's entry into non-traditional sectors such as technology and the green economy.
Participants also reviewed global legal frameworks and successful case studies from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain.
A dedicated session addressed the methodology of the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law Index, a key global benchmark for assessing gender-related regulatory progress.
The Kingdom's efforts have yielded significant achievements, with women's labor force participation increasing from 17% in 2017 to over 36% in 2025, surpassing the original targets of Vision 2030. The ministry's participation in the event reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to empowering women and elevating their role across all sectors in line with the Vision 2030.
