Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), Hala Al-Ansari, has revealed that Bahraini women account for 49% of the workforce in the kingdom, surpassing the global average for this indicator of 47%.

She also pointed out that the rate of Bahraini women assuming executive positions has reached 46% in the government sector and 34% in the private sector, while their presence in the boards of directors in private companies has reached 17% in the same period.

Al-Ansari was speaking during the virtual ministerial roundtable themed “Getting to parity: good practices towards achieving women's full and effective participation and decision-making in public life”, held on the sidelines of the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations (CSW 65).

She indicated that the efforts supporting women’s advancement in the kingdom have made a quantum and unprecedented leap in the kingdom within the national reform process that began two decades ago, noting that the focus has been on the resumption of women’s participation in the political life and the decision-making process in public life based on gender equality, in line with the constitutional provisions, and the kingdom’s international obligations, such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

She affirmed that 20 years after the establishment of the SCW as the official reference of women’s affairs and issues in the kingdom, Bahrain has adopted policies that have enabled women to take part in developing their society and nation.

Al-Ansari highlighted the kingdom’s strides in empowering women, including the creation of a work environment that embraces and supports the sustainability of women’s participation in the labour market.

She also shed light on Bahrain’s achievements in the fields of social protection and family stability, including the revision and creation of 147 laws and legislation related to women.

Al-Ansari stressed that despite the major strides it has made in advancing women towards reaching women’s full involvement in public affairs, Bahrain is determined to carry on its efforts to enhance women’s status, citing the ongoing efforts to maintain women’s participation in the sustainable development process in the midst of the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Concluding her statement, Al-Ansari said that the kingdom is looking forward to broadening joint cooperation and exchanging expertise in order to provide the necessary support for women.