Higher education paved way for women's empowerment in Saudi Arabia

JEDDAH: Gone are the days of male domination in Saudi academia, the growing number of women pursuing postgraduate degree and working as lecturers and professors at educational institutions across the Kingdom is a clear indicator.

Female empowerment in all areas of the modern Saudi economy has been made possible by reducing barriers to study and employment, as well as tackling disparities in academics.

Over the last few decades, educational reforms have progressed through various stages, including the creation of government scholarships and Ministry of Education initiatives to encourage female students to pursue a variety of in-demand and specialized disciplines.

Although the first scholarship in the Kingdom's history was established in 1935, when King Abdul Aziz sent three Saudi students to the United Kingdom, Thoraya Obaid, who graduated from Mills College in Oakland, California, in 1966, was the first Saudi woman to receive a government scholarship.

Thoraya went on to be named one of the top 100 "Muslim Builders of World Civilization and Culture," among other important accomplishments.

Many others soon followed in her footsteps. The number of scholarships allowing young Saudis to study in the United States increased dramatically in 1980. A third of the 11,000 students who received scholarships during that time were women.

With more female graduates, the number of women entering top jobs and earning incomes comparable to their male colleagues has gradually increased.

Following King Abdullah's announcement in 2005 of a new programme named "The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship" to enhance Saudi academic institutions and widen their research and course offerings, more changes occurred.

King Salman's accession to the throne, the government's scholarship programme was updated to match the Kingdom's Vision 2030 reform strategy, which aims to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil and toward high-tech, creative, and other specialized industries.

These new scholarships have been created to cover specific areas of study, allowing young Saudis to take part in the Kingdom's journey to becoming a worldwide player in the current globalized economy.