Fifty-three per cent of public sector employees are women although they lag behind men in the private sector, it was revealed in a panel discussion held as part of a women’s empowerment initiative held in Ritz Carlton Bahrain on September 10. The event was part of the Nebula initiative launched by C5 Accelerate, a London, Washington, and Bahrain based technology investment firm that runs Cloud Accelerator programs to scale innovative tech startups.
Hosted by C5 Accelerate Executive Director Hadyah Fathalla, wide-ranging statistics and opinions were shared by a panel that comprised of Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, Political and Economic Advisor to HRH the Crown Prince’s Court and Chairman of Tamkeen, Zayed Al Zayani, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, and Khalid Al Rumaihi, CE of the Economic Development Board (EDB) during an event held at Ritz Carlton Bahrain yesterday.
The panel noted that the commendable achievements of Bahraini women proved that government initiatives to empower women had borne fruit. In some cases, the lower representation of women in the workforce was associated with cultural beliefs or simply a matter of personal choice. The panel concluded that while discrimination might exist in some sectors, it’s a very negligible figure, especially when compared with more developed countries, hence women should take full advantage of the opportunities available.
Al Rumaihi said Bahraini women have the same educational and employment opportunities as men which has resulted in almost 53 percent of the public sector workforce being women, while its about 35 percent in the private sector. He added, “If you look at our education sector, the highest academic scores are earned by women. The fact that women are growing as a workforce is because they are some of the best and brightest brains coming out of our schools right now.”
Shaikh Mohammed highlighted that while no one should be discriminated against, opportunities should be offered based on meritocracy in order to ensure efficiency.
Earlier, Nebula’s women’s empowerment program had also held an essay competition where female students and professionals were invited to explore technology’s potential for greater gender equality.
