This month has witnessed yet another milestone for Saudi Arabia as the Kingdom continues its journey towards modernizing its society and diversifying its economy, a large part of which has been to increase the presence and participation of women in leadership roles. In Jeddah, Mayor Saleh Al-Turki announced this week the appointment of four women to key positions in the city’s municipality, while the recently appointed women municipality heads of Sharafiya and Dhahban women’s municipality branch started their first day of work with inspection tours of districts within their jurisdiction.
Part the appointments announced in Jeddah is Areej Baqmi, who has been promoted to director general of human resources, making her the first woman in Saudi Arabia to hold this position in a municipality. In 2017, Baqmi was appointed director of the recruitment and manpower planning department, as reported by Gulf News. In addition to Baqmi’s appointment, Mariam Abu Al Ainain was named head of the women’s municipality, a department formerly known as the general directorate for women’s services.
In 2015, Al Jazeera reported that at least 18 women won seats in Saudi Arabia's municipal polls, the country's first-ever elections open to female voters and candidates. Since then, and particularly under the umbrella of the country’s ambitious Vision 2030 plan spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has been working on improving the overall rights and access to work opportunities for women.
Today, the Kingdom believes that Saudi women are an important part of the future, sustainable development of the country, and their empowerment is seen as vital in Saudi Arabia’s Vision, particularly its National Transformation Plan. As part of the Kingdom’s new approach to providing institutional support for women, the Saudi government has been making key appointments of women in leadership positions and increasing the participation of women in the Shoura council as well.
The first woman to be appointed head of a municipality in the Kingdom was Nahla Bint Saleh Madhhar, who took over the women’s municipality in Madinah in April. Three months later, Daleel Khalaf Al Shimmari was appointed head of the women’s municipality in the Northern Area.
