RIYADH: Saudi reforms have positioned women to become key contributors to the economic future of the country, said Princess Reema bint Bandar, the Kingdom’s ambassador to the US. Princess Reema outline some of the progress made in the Kingdom since the introduction of the Saudi Vision 2030 reform program. She said the national agenda, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has put inclusivity at the forefront. “Today in the Kingdom, we have more women receiving advanced degrees than men, more women enrolling in STEM, and more than 40% of small and medium-sized startup companies are owned by women. Women today in Saudi Arabia enjoy equal pay,” she said. “The World Bank looked at 190 economies and they ranked Saudi Arabia number one in terms of economic and social progress for women.” “The recent progress for women is so truly profound”, she told a an Atlantic Council panel titled “The rising female workforce in Saudi Arabia and its impact on the private sector.” But Princess Reema said there was still more work to be done. She said it was important to ensure there were more women in leadership roles to promote inclusivity. “Half of the worlds population are women and yet we still make up a fraction of leadership positions, of business owners, of middle management, and still too small a part of the overall workforce. So that needs to change because when women succeed we all succeed.” She said it was essential that there is investment in women’s empowerment and that advancement needs to embrace gender equity because if it doesn’t, it is not real advancement. “We need more women in leadership roles paving the way. We need more women in middle management positions continuing the work. We need more women business owners, more mentorship programs focused on female success, and more people investing in women-led startups,” Princess Reema said. But she also said one of the ways of getting there was through access to education and training. “More women in education, training and mentorship paves the road to our destination, to greater inclusivity.” She said that education helps to level the playing field and allows women to be on an equal footing in the workplace and fosters gender equality and equity. “It also gives women greater control over their own financial lives, enabling them to participate more fully in the economic decision making within their families and their communities. “Because education and training is about having the real life skills. Its about confidence building, about preparing women to take their rightful place in society, as full participants. We can shift cultural attitudes and norms around gender and business.” Princess Reem told the panel: “We can contribute to break down the barriers in the biases that hold women back and we can foster a world where the next generation of women can thrive. And when we do that, we’ll not only create a more equal and inclusive society but also a more prosperous one.”