1. You recently received a promotion to be the Director of Gender Balance Statistics at the Institute of Public Administration of Saudi Arabia– Congratulations! Tell us about the Institute and what it seeks to achieve.
First of all, I would like to thank you for this opportunity. It is always a pleasure to share with the MPPA community what happened recently in my career. The Institute of Public Administration (IPA) is one of the leading government agencies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. IPA seeks to increase the efficiency of public employees and to educate them to make them capable of shouldering their responsibilities, use their jurisdiction in a manner that would raise the level of administration, and support the foundation of national economic development. In addition, the IPA contributes to the administrative organization of government departments, offers consultations on administrative problems referred by government ministries and agencies, undertakes administrative research projects, and enhances cultural ties in the field of public administration. Today, IPA is a major strategic partner in achieving the Saudi Vision 2030. It helps the government achieve four main projects, which include the national programs of e-training, administrative leadership development, government innovation, and training programs for Saudi Vision 2030.
2. Within your agency, what does your role entail and what goals do you hope to achieve in this new position?
My main role in the IPA is as a faculty member in the organizational behavior sector. I, like other colleagues and training staff, provide high quality training programs to government employees. My specialty is the issues of public administration, in general, and organizational behavior, in particular. As for the new position, the journey began when I joined a group of my colleagues at IPA to conduct a study on equal opportunities between women and men in the workplace, where many government agencies participated in the study sample. When we monitored the final study results, we found that there are differences between the women and men at work, especially with regard to assuming leadership positions and meeting differing needs. After that, we decided to present a strategic recommendation to the higher authorities in order to consider establishing a special center that creates gender balance. Fortunately, this proposal was approved, and the center was officially launched on November 9, 2021. I was chosen for the position of Director of Gender Statistics, and a few of my main tasks is the governance and analysis of gender data in the workplace, the creation of data disaggregated by sex in all sectors of the state, and considering the creation of strategic indicators that measure the progress of government agencies in creating gender balance and equal opportunities at work.
3. There are gender issues and inequalities in every country. What are a few issues that are specific to Saudi Arabia, and how does your team tackle those problems throughout the country?
As I mentioned previously, we found gaps in the balanced access to leadership positions between women and men. In addition, many obstacles were monitored, such as the lack of participation of women in decision-making processes, their failure to participate in the formulation of organizational policies or regulations in organizations, and their failure to participate in both the strategic and policy level, internally or externally. There are also some restrictions that limit women’s enjoyment of some powers and authorities at work, and this may be due to the stereotyped image that women suffer from in the workplace.
We have begun to address these obstacles through the strategic pillars implemented by the Center for Gender Balance, including activating the role of studies and consultations that support gender balance and considering policies and regulatory procedures by coordinating efforts within Saudi Arabia and developing necessary policies in both the public and private sectors. We are also strengthening the role of training and development, providing training programs, and setting development plans to reduce the gender gap in the workplace. Finally, activating qualitative partnerships, building a network of communications with relevant entities that support gender balance, and creating agreements to exchange knowledge and experience in order to achieve common goals and reduce the gender gap.
4. What have you found to be the most difficult problem to tackle, in regard to either your position specifically or your agency generally?
Spreading awareness that supports the concept of gender balance! It’s really hard work, trying in every way to change the old or general misconceptions about creating equal opportunity for both women and men. So, we desperately need to improve the organizational culture and correct the prevailing societal thinking about the role of women and men at work. We should enhance the importance of involving both women and men together to achieve the main objective and to clarify the benefits of achieving gender balance in increasing the country’s domestic product.
5. For those in our MPPA community interested in working in the field you are in, could you give us a few tips that helped you during or after your time at CLU to get you to where you are today?
The most important tip I could provide to everyone in our MPPA community is to find passion in every field you work in! The MPPA program emphasizes the importance of considering every problem or gap at the policy level, not just theoretically. I wouldn’t have done what I’m doing today without this program. If I were to give another piece of advice, I would say you should contribute to your community and promote social responsibility, no matter how small or insignificant your contribution is. At CLU, we learn the essential role that the individual plays in improving communities. When I got back home, I began to work on improving and developing all that I saw as shortcomings, even without financial compensation, because I reaped greater profits than money, which is to see what I do being implemented in reality and feel that all my proposals are considered!
Thank you for your time on this interview! We look forward to hearing the great changes and work you will accomplish in your new role.