RIYADH: The empowerment of Saudi women was the focus of a conference in Riyadh organized by Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University under the patronage of Princess Fahda bint Falah Al-Hithlain. More than 110 researchers representing more than 90 government and private sector agencies discussed the empowerment of Saudi women, legislative reforms in the era of King Salman, and the most important government initiatives. The conference sessions dealt with the reality of empowering Saudi women in state institutions, the degree of empowerment and political participation of women, and future proposals for empowering women within the framework of legislative and institutional reforms supporting women’s empowerment and achieving the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. The president of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Dr. Enas Al-Issa, said the process of empowering Saudi women had seen historic leaps in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. She said the total number of Saudi female faculty members had reached 33,000 and that women constituted about 44 percent of the total faculty members in Saudi universities. Of these, 37 percent had a doctorate while 1,300 women held senior leadership positions in universities. Nouf Al-Ajmi, vice rector of the Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University for female students, said the institution had made remarkable progress in the indicators for women’s empowerment in university education. “The university is increasing activities, projects and initiatives directed at developing the skills of its members, improving the work environment, removing challenges and introducing new specializations for female students in the fields of medicine, media and law,” she told the conference.