B20: Saudi Arabia Wants More Women In Leadership Roles

Rania Nashar

An increase in women as business leaders is on the forefront of the Business Twenty (B20) agenda whose Women in Business action council is led by SAMBA CEO Rania Nashar as chairperson. The #B20 goals is to not just boost women’s participation in business but also in global leadership positions.

Part of the G20 dialogue, The Kingdom is focusing on the Business 20 (B20), making this one of the key engagement groups with Women in Business as Saudi Arabia’s priority topic. Saudi Arabia will host the 15th edition of the G20 Summit in Riyadh in November 2020.

#B20SaudiArabia – Inception Event commenced with the ‘Women in Business’ Action Council meeting steered by its Chair - Rania Nashar #B20 #B20Inception #Business20 pic.twitter.com/vsI6uF3YpM

— B20 (@b20) January 16, 2020

During the launch of B20 in Saudi Arabia, Nashar highlighted the under-representation of women in the economy. “There is a gap of 27 percent between male and female workers; 75 percent of males are part of the labor force while only 48 percent of females are working,” Nashar told Arab News. She also pinpointed that it’s crucial to not just address women as workers but as business owners too, which serves as a reminder that entrepreneurship is vital to the task force.

Rania Nashar, Chair - ‘Women in Business’ AC passionately addressing the issue of gender diversity and gender equality during the WiB session at #B20SaudiArabia - Inception Event. #B20 #B20Inception #Business20 pic.twitter.com/uKhjjNpPkd

— B20 (@b20) January 16, 2020

“The majority of the finance development programs have incentives for giving loans to females; however, despite the fact that many large borrowers are females, the amount of loans granted to them is far below what is granted to males,” she added.

Nashar said that a staggering two-thirds of female business founders feel that investors not took seriously them when they pitch for investments and that they receive different treatment from their male counterparts.