By Abdul Rahman Al-Misbahi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette





JEDDAH — Men occupy a whopping 98.25 percent posts numbering 336 on the boards of directors of the 28 chambers of commerce and industry in the Kingdom as against a mere 1.75 percent for women.

The council of the Saudi chambers of commerce and industry in Riyadh does not have a single female member.

The women are represented in three chambers only at the rate of two women in each.

The board of directors of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) has two women members — Sara Baghdadi and Lama Al-Sulaiman.

There are also two women in the chamber of the Eastern Province. They are Samaira Al-Suweigh and Manahil Al-Hamdan.

Women members in Al-Ahsa chamber are Latifa Al-Afaliq and Ilham Al-Youssif who were appointed by the Minister of Commerce and Investment Majed Al-Qassabi.

The incumbent women members have failed to win their seats through elections but they were reinstated in their positions under a decision by the minister who has authority to appoint a third of the board members consisting of three members from the category of traders and the same number from the category of industrialists.

Three women contested the elections for Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry but all failed to win any seat.

A number of women who ran for the elections have failed to compete with men in winning seats.