The US-based Woodrow Wilson International Research Center has issued a report monitoring the progress of Bahraini women entrepreneurship with numbers, statistics and indicators.
The report which was released recently monitored opportunities and challenges for women entrepreneurs in The Kingdom of Bahrain, the Republic of Lebanon, and the Republic of Tunisia, in the context of the status of women in the Middle East region in general.
The report focused mainly on legislation, laws, policies, government and community support, and others. It also reviewed a number of recommendations that the Center’s researchers considered necessary to preserve the progress made at the national level.
The Supreme Council for Women (SCW) has contributed to providing the research team concerned with the required sources and information related to the subject of the report.
The Council also attended several discussion sessions via video conference with the center’s employees and in the presence of all concerned parties, to debate and review many aspects of the report.
The closing session was held – via video conference – recently, during which the results of the report were announced in the presence of a number of SCW General Secretariat senior officials, as well as a group of specialized personalities concerned with the content of the report in the region.
Ambassador Mark Green, CEO of the Wilson Center, Katrina Votovat, Senior Officer of the Bureau of Global Women’s Issues at the United States Department of State, and Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States of America, Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Khalifa addressed the session.
SCW Secretary-General Hala Al Ansari stressed the importance of the report in highlighting Bahrain’s efforts, noting the SCW’s role in raising women’s economic participation.
“The report was made following a direct request from the Wilson Research Center to cooperate with the Supreme Council for Women”, she said, noting that the SCW General Secretariat paid a visit to the United States of America in 2017.
She stressed the keenness of both parties to exchange experiences and studies and to enhance research production in the field of empowerment and advancement of women and to hold relevant specialized forums.
“The Wilson Center report on women and entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa places the advanced Bahraini experience in the field of women’s entrepreneurship in its regional context and progress compared to the experiences of many other countries”, she said.
She underscored the importance of the report as a viable tool for unifying visions about the pillars that must be further strengthened, noting the opportunities for progress that must be seized, and shedding light on any current of future gaps.
