It represents a significant and important milestone in the comprehensive development journey, reflecting the visionary and democratic approach of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and his ambitious aspirations to elevate the status of the Kingdom of Bahrain and support Bahraini women towards progress at all levels.
The establishment of the Supreme Council for Women came as a significant landmark in the field of women's work, building upon the accumulated experience and civil women's activities for over sixty years. The founding order stipulates that the official institution concerned with women's affairs is to be headed by Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, the wife of His Majesty the King and the President of the Supreme Council for Women. It is an official reference for all state institutions, directly subordinate to His Majesty the King, granting the council qualitative powers and wide-ranging responsibilities to monitor the progress of Bahraini women and ensure their rights by implementing the principle of equal opportunities and achieving gender balance at the national level.
The Supreme Council for Women plays a prominent role in this regard. One of its most important mandates is to raise awareness in society about the role of women, their rights, and responsibilities, using appropriate mechanisms such as organizing conferences, seminars, and panel discussions on women-related topics. The Council also monitors the implementation of laws, regulations, resolutions, and relevant international conventions concerning women to ensure non-discrimination and gender balance. It activates the principles outlined in the National Action Charter, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and other national legislation related to women. It monitors, evaluates, and implements public policies in the field of women, as well as the programs adopted in government plans and programs for women. Additionally, the Council establishes a documentation center to monitor information and data related to women, conducts studies and research in this field, all with the aim of empowering women to play their role in public life and integrating their efforts into comprehensive development programs while ensuring non-discrimination against them.
It is worth mentioning that the participation rate of Bahraini women in the national workforce reached 42.8% as of 2021. Official statistics indicate an increase in the participation rate of Bahraini women in the government sector from 38% to approximately 56%, an increase of 18% during the period from 2010 to 2021. The percentage of women in the private sector increased from 24% to 35%, an increase of 11% during the period from 2001 to 2021. The percentage of Bahraini women in diplomatic positions in the government sector is 33% of the total number of Bahraini women in diplomatic positions, and the percentage of Bahraini women judges is 12% of the total number of Bahraini judges. Women constitute 20% of the Council of Representatives, Bahrain's parliament.
The implementation of the National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini Women (2013-2022) is being monitored. The plan aims to ensure family stability for women within the framework of family cohesion and empower them to contribute competitively to the development path based on the principle of equal opportunities and the integration of women's needs in development, enabling them to excel in performance, enhance their choices, improve their quality of life, and engage in lifelong learning through integration with institutional partners. Furthermore, work is underway to develop another plan for the upcoming phase (2023-2030) that aligns with the progress achieved by Bahraini women.
The National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini Women has been integrated into the government's action program. The government program for the years (2019-2022) emphasizes the continued integration of Bahraini women's needs in all comprehensive development programs and the sustainability of national efforts to advance women.
In the public sector, 54 committees for equal opportunities have been established, with their key responsibilities being the integration of women's needs within the framework of equal opportunities in all fields of work and the achievement of gender balance and equal opportunities.
Based on constitutional principles, Bahrain has enacted several laws and legislations supportive of women in various fields, including the following:
In addition to implementing certain policies and measures aimed at enhancing women's economic participation in the labor market, some of the important initiatives in Bahrain are:
The experience of the Kingdom of Bahrain has contributed to the implementation of the National Model for Gender Balance by guiding decision-makers towards making decisions and introducing a number of supportive services and initiatives that support women's economic participation and enhance their ability to balance family and professional responsibilities. One recent notable example is the issuance of Civil Service Instructions No. 4 of 2020 regarding the implementation of the work-from-home policy for employees of government entities, prioritizing pregnant employees, employees eligible for childcare hours, elderly employees, and those with chronic diseases or underlying health conditions.
A comprehensive framework has been developed for the Women's Political Participation Program, consisting of five pillars: partnership and networking, gender-responsive training and development, awareness-raising, and media promotion, monitoring and evaluation, and knowledge management through studies and documentation. The "Women's Electoral Consultations Program" has been launched, aiming to achieve various objectives, including empowering women to play their role in shaping public policies and reviewing and developing national legislation through their political participation.
The Women's Political Participation Program is considered a key ongoing initiative within the strategic plan for the advancement of Bahraini women. It aims to enhance women's electoral participation, prepare them for entry into legislative and municipal councils, and measure their contributions in this field.
The Kingdom of Bahrain emphasizes that its legislation does not include discriminatory provisions against women. Achieving gender balance and prohibiting gender discrimination in all areas of life are fundamental principles enshrined in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain for both men and women.
Women's education is a major focus in national plans related to education and training, including the National Strategy for Education Development, the National Strategy for Early Childhood Care and Development (2006-2020), the National Strategy for Higher Education (2014-2024), the National Strategy for Scientific Research (2014-2024), and others.
The annual Gender Gap Report released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2021 indicated that the gender gap in education was closed by 98.5%, placing Bahrain in the first position globally in terms of closing the gap in both secondary and tertiary education enrollment. Continuous efforts are being made to expand education and provide technical and vocational training for girls. Curriculum plans are also being updated to align with gender balance.
In this regard, several vocational and technical schools for girls have been opened, with the latest one established in 2021. The percentage of female students in vocational and technical education accounted for 10% of the total students in 2020. Additionally, the percentage of female students in the commercial track of vocational and technical education increased from 49% in 2013 to 66% of the total students in 2020.
The "Tamkeen" Labor Fund has introduced programs to support the professional and cognitive skill development of women, aiming to create learning and training opportunities suitable for women. The fund has provided 28,500 training opportunities in basic and professional certifications, with a 75% beneficiary rate from the training platform.
The percentage of Bahraini female deans out of the total Bahraini deans in universities increased from 7% in 2016 to 33% in 2020. Similarly, the percentage of Bahraini female department heads out of the total Bahraini department heads in universities (higher education) rose to 55%, representing a 5% increase during the same period. Furthermore, the percentage of Bahraini women in leadership positions out of the total Bahraini employees in leadership positions in higher education reached 46% in 2020, indicating a 9% increase. The percentage of Bahraini female academics out of the total Bahraini academics also increased to 49% during the period of 2014-2020, with a 3% rise.
Regarding the mechanisms and measures for protection and accountability to ensure the full protection of women and their families in various circumstances, notable steps have been taken, including:
In order to achieve opportunities for them to excel in performance and improve their choices towards their quality of life, and lifelong learning, through integration with partners and allies in institutional work, and the strategy reflects the role of the Supreme Council for Women as the national house of expertise specialized in women’s affairs.
Vision: The National Plan for the Advancement of Bahraini Women is a clear and comprehensive vision based on equal partnership to build a competitive and sustainable society.
Message:
The plan begins under a framework of values that forms the fundamentals guiding the efforts and chart their course towards national goals. This framework is crowned by higher values represented in justice and the empowerment of women, under which a list of sub-values falls that include equal opportunities and ensuring women’s rights as tributaries to achieving justice. It also includes partnerships and alliances and the adoption of leadership and creativity as systematic values to lead efforts towards empowering women. Additionally, a set of concepts and principles has been adopted as a basis for the plan's objectives and operations, to ensure coherence and integration in its structure.
As part of this, a system of concepts and principles has been adopted (working for values, sustainability through creating impact, competitiveness, societal stability, management through companies, experience in the field of women) a base linking the goals of the plan expressed in impact and outcomes, and the detailed plans and indicators that emerge from them, in a manner that achieves coherence and integration in the structure of the plan.
The award aims to encourage national efforts of UN Member States aimed at empowering women and activating their role as equal partners in the development process and sustainable development.
The award also provides an opportunity for public international appreciation of the achievements of institutions and individuals in the field of women's empowerment, maximizing the impact of methodologies for integrating women's needs into development process and achieving equal opportunities.
The results of the first edition of the award were announced in 2019, as it achieved widespread success in attracting official and civil institutions and individuals from around the world who have influential initiatives in their support for women and based on the outcomes of the first edition of the award.
The award is given every two years to ministries and public and private entities that excel in supporting and empowering working Bahraini women.
In 2019 Royal Decree No. (17) of 2019 amending some provisions of Royal Order No. (5) of 2004 by changing the name of the Award to Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa Award for the Advancement of Bahraini Women. New award categories were presented for Civil society and individuals, in addition to the private sector organizations, in order to support and encourage incentive policies for gender balance programs, support women's advancement of positions and decision-making positions, and create a supportive and gender-sensitive environment in the work programs of public and private institutions, and to confirm that Bahrain evolved from being about women’s empowerment to the partnership balance between Bahraini women and men.
The award is the first of its kind in its field of specialization and the nature of its objectives, as it aims to achieve a realistic impact in terms of raising the levels of competitiveness of Bahraini women as a production and construction force, by spreading the culture of gender balance, and encouraging them to adopt methodologies that work to sustain the balanced progress of Bahraini women in the labor market, in order to increase its contribution to the national economy.
The award’s objectives are as follows:
It should be noted that the award has been able, during its previous sessions, to establish qualitative standards capable of enhancing the presence of women in public and private sector institutions, civil society institutions and individuals, especially after the institutions participating in the award sensed the extent of the benefit they reap from the application of such standards.
This award is a national initiative and a success story as a distinguished model in the field of achieving gender balance and integrating women's needs in the development path through the launch of the Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa International Award for Women's Empowerment, and the encouragement of national efforts in the member states of the United Nations, aimed at empowering women, And providing an opportunity for public international appreciation of the achievements of institutions and individuals in the field of women’s empowerment, in addition to embodying the impact of methodologies for integrating women’s needs in development paths and achieving equal opportunities on the reality of women’s progress, and the great importance that women’s role in development represents, and its impact on achieving comprehensive societal stability.