Legislative Guarantees to Empower Women to Hold Public Office and Reduce the Gender Gap
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35246/hpgy6858Keywords:
Women's Empowerment, Principle of Equality, Public PositionsAbstract
This study aims to explore the concept of the empowerment of working woman as a critical pillar in the development and evolvement of the society, in addition to examining the challenges women face in enabling them to hold public positions; then to identify the legal principles established by the Saudi Law to achieve the principle of gender equality; and finally to demonstrate the legal rights granted by the Saudi Law to working women; accordingly, the researcher relied on the descriptive and analytical approach as a methodology for the research, The researcher reached several results, the most important of which are: The Saudi legislator has been keen to implement the principle of equality for working women in terms of rights and duties within the workplace, emphasizing that women should be treated equally with men. The legislator implemented this by using the term "worker," which encompasses both genders. The Kingdom has been keen to integrate women into comprehensive development plans, making their support and empowerment key objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. Therefore, the Saudi Law has focused on women's participation in political, legislative, and economic life by appointing women to leadership positions in the Kingdom. The researcher recommended the need to enhance women's self-efficacy through their participation in numerous training programs and practical courses that qualify them to make and take decisions. The researcher also recommended the need to shed light on the distinguished leadership models of Saudi women who have contributed to decision-making and occupying leadership positions via mass media, in order to change society's perception of women and their effective role in the political, economic, and social domains.
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References
Books:
I. Elohkare. Elsaheh. Investigation of a group of scholars. Royal Edition, 1311 A.H.
II. Al-Rayes, Rizk bin Maqbool, and Reda Mahmoud Al-Abed. 2020. Explanation of the provisions of the Saudi Labor Law. 3. Riyadh: Dar Khalid Abdullah Al-Shaqri for Publishing and Distribution.
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University Thesis:
I. Al-Saadoun, Jadaan Abdullah. 2014. "Protecting Women Working in the Saudi Labor System: A Comparative Study." Unpublished Master's Thesis, Mutah University, Jordan.
Laws and Regulations:
I. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. December 10, 1948.
II. Statute of Governance. Royal Decree No. A/90, 27/8/1412 AH.
III. Saudi Labor Law, Royal Decree No. M/51, 23/8/1426 H, Amended by Royal Decree No. M/44 dated 8/2/1446 H
IV. Civil Service Law, Royal Decree No. M/49, 1397 A.H.
V. The Executive Regulations for Human Resources in the Civil Service issued by Ministerial Resolution No. 1550 dated 9/6/1440 H.
VI. Organizing the Council of Family Affairs, issued by Cabinet Resolution No. (443) dated 20/10/1437, as amended by Cabinet Resolutions No. (14) dated 6/1/1439 and No. (311) dated 5/5/1441 H.
VII. Cabinet Resolution No. (97) dated 5/2/1442 deciding as follows: Replacing the phrase "Ministry of Human Resources" and "Ministry of Labor and Social Development" with "Ministry of Civil Service" wherever they appear in regulations, regulations, orders, royal decrees and decrees.
Articles and Periodicals:
I. Afghani, Amani Abdulaziz Abdul Ghafoor, and Samha Samir Ibrahim Mohammed. 2023. "Saudi Women's Empowerment and Sustainable Development: A Study of Trends and Challenges." Arab Journal of Sociology, p. 32.
II. Ismail, Buthaina Ali Noureddine Atwan. 2021. "Legislative Requirements to Increase Women's Participation in the Workplace: An Analytical Study of the Saudi Legal System." Journal of Contemporary Egypt 112, p. 544.
III. Ben Othman, Fawzia. 2023. "Women's Economic Empowerment Between International Conventions and Constitutional Guarantees." Algerian Journal of Research and Studies 6, p. 2.
IV. Hussein, Asmaa Magdy Ali. 2022. "The Role of Civil Society Organizations in the Political Empowerment of Egyptian Women: An Empirical Study on the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights." Egyptian Journal of Social and Behavioral Sciences, p. 6.
V. Al-Khayat, Khaled Rashad, and Sahar Abdel Sattar Imam. 2024. "Legal Protection in the Saudi Labor System in the Light of Comparative Law." Journal of Legal and Economic Studies 10, p. 1.
VI. Al-Salami, Al-Hanouf Abdel Aziz Moayoud. 2024. "Empowering Women in the Judicial System in Accordance with the Vision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2030." Journal of Legal and Economic Research, p. 59, vol. 1.
VII. Al-Saffar, Hassan. 2021. "Women's Empowerment: Opportunities and Challenges." Al-Kalima Magazine 28, p. 111.
VIII. Al-Ajmi, Khaled Fayez Al-Huwaila. 2017. "The Principle of the Right to Litigation: A Comparative Study of the Position of the Judiciary on the Theory of Acts of Sovereignty and the Idea of Immunization France-Egypt-Kuwait." Kuwait International Law College Journal, vol. 2, p. 2.
IX. Al-Anzi, Kateeb bin Mutair Abdel Aziz, Rouzman bin Mohammed Nour, and Amer Abdel Wahab Mihoub Murshid. 2023. "Barriers to Women's Empowerment of Their Political Rights in Saudi Arabia." Journal of Educational Sciences and Humanities, p. 34.
X. Qaliubi, Amani Muhammad Bin Mohammed. 2023. "Social Empowerment of Saudi Women from the Perspective of Islamic Education." Scientific Journal of the Faculty of Education, Assiut University 29, p. 11.
XI. Morsi, Ahmed Mohamed Attia. 2018. "Integration of Government and Civil Sector Efforts to Legislate Women's Empowerment." Journal of Social Work, p. 60, c.
XII. Mansour, Magda Abdel Shafi Mohamed Al-Hadi Khaled. 2024. "Legal and Judicial Safeguards for Women's Empowerment to Achieve Equality and Non-Discrimination." Legal Journal 22, p. 7.
XIII. Al-Nuwaiem, Nour Meshari. 2023. "Mechanisms for Empowering Women to Participate in Political Action: Challenges and Suggestions." Journal of the Faculty of Education, p. 124.
XIV. Hilal, Huda Ibrahim Ahmed, and Maha Radwan Mohamed Mustafa. 2023. "Women's Economic Empowerment: A Renewed Trend Towards Sustainable Development." The Scientific Journal of Economics and Trade, p. 1.
Government Reports and Other Publications:
I. Family Affairs Council. 1441 A.H./2020 A.D. The role of Saudi women in society, in various business sectors, and in government sectors. Second Edition
II. UN Women. 2019. Equality before the law for women and girls by 2030. New York.
Websites:
I. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. "Promoting Women's Economic Empowerment." Accessed July 19, 2025. https://2cm.es/1bPBk.
II. The National Platform of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "Women's Empowerment." accessed July 19, 2025. https://my.gov.sa/ar/content/women-empowering#section-2.
III. The National Platform of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "Women's Empowerment." accessed July 19, 2025. https://my.gov.sa/ar/content/women-empowering#section-20.
IV. The National Platform of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "Women's Empowerment." accessed July 20, 2025. https://my.gov.sa/ar/content/women-empowering#section-4.
V. Saudi Women's Report 2022, p. 12, https://www.stats.gov.sa/ar/7014
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