Moudhi Aljamea (Photo: Hamad S. Alshehab)
With Saudi Arabia making groundbreaking moves to enforce women’s rights across the kingdom, another woman has caught the attention of many as she becomes the first female executive at Saudi Telecom Company.
Dr. Moudhi Aljamea is the first woman to have obtained an executive position at the Riyadh based telecommunications company, which is also the largest by value within the Arab world – as reported by Forbes. Dr. Aljamea is the General Manager of the Digital Technology School at STC Academy, which was specifically opened last year to help educate people and enable them to work in the digital industry.
Speaking to press, Dr. Moudhi Aljamea said, “Technology is something I have been always passionate about. I was fortunate enough that my father was one of the main engineers at the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone (today the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology), and we were one of the first houses to be connected with the Internet when it was first introduced in the Kingdom. Since then I developed my passion for technology, and I knew for sure that I would be working in that field of technology.”
Dr. Aljamea has been successful in her career and before joining STC this February, she was the president of the entrepreneurship unit and business incubator at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University in Dammam. With a PhD in computer security, published articles, and a knack for developing her own algorithms to make computer systems safer, it’s no surprise that she also obtained one of the world’s top cybersecurity certifications. The Certified Ethical Hacker v10 requires years of experience, passing a 125-question quiz, and further studies in the field.
On making history as the first Saudi woman to become an executive at one of the kingdom’s biggest establishments, Dr. Moudhi Aljamea stated, “As they say, with great power comes great responsibility, and I think this role will give me the power to inspire women in technology, which I consider as a privilege, more than a pressure. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is full of talented females, and with the great support that we are receiving from our government, I think it is just a matter of time, and we will see many more of our great female leaders.”
Understanding her position as someone who could be a potential role model and inspiration for the generation of Saudi women currently striving to establish their career goals, Dr Aljamea also shared further words of wisdom, “Simply believe in yourself and work hard on developing yourself. We are in an era of empowering youth, and especially females in the Kingdom, and this is the chance to shine. Practically speaking, it is important to position yourself on a trajectory that leads you to your goal and not be afraid to ask others to help you get there – you’ll be surprised how people are willing to help.”
Women making history and becoming successful in the previously male dominated field of telecommunications, comes at a time in the Middle East when women are pivotal in changing the status quo. In Kuwait, company Zain just hosted its second women’s empowerment forum as well as introducing a new maternity leave policy; in Dubai, network provider Du has established its first “telecommunications industry women’s council”; highlighting the achievements of women within the work place are Bahraini company Batelco, including the deputy CEO of the group, Muna Al Hashemi, whilst STC is hoping to increase their number of female employees.
