HRH Princess Sabeeka to patronise international conference on women

Manama, Nov. 21 (BNA): Under the Patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, Wife of the King of Bahrain and President of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), the SCW will organise the High-Level Conference "Women in Public Life: From Policies to Impact" in association with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) from December 8 to 10, 2015. The focus of the conference is on highlighting the efforts of the MENA region with regards to women’s participation in public life. This conference will also take stock on the progress in implementing the regional recommendations to strengthen gender equality in public life included in the OECD-CAWTAR report "Women in Public Life: Gender, Law and Policy in the Middle East and North Africa". The report highlights the main trends of mainstreaming women’s needs, policies and the legal settings across the region. It also presents recommendations related to policies based on international standards and good practices from OECD and MENA countries. The conference is expected to discuss several issues, most notably promoting women’s participation in public life for inclusive economic policies, and equal opportunities in the private sector, promoting equal opportunities in parliamentary practices, and the role of civil society institutions. In addition to, building accountability – from strategy to impact. In this context, this high-level conference will gather high-level representatives from ministers and heads of international and regional organizations working in the areas of women's affairs, policy-makers and practitioners from countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the countries of OECD, as well as participants from specialists from inside and outside Bahrain. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was established in 1948 as a major international economic organization with a membership of 34 countries. Some of OECD’s objectives are the commitment to support the sustainable growth projects and job creation, as well as to maintain the financial stability of the member countries in particular. OECD headquartered in Paris, is committed to sustainable growth, employment support, raising living standards, maintains financial stability, assist other countries in economic development, and contributes to the growth of world trade. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is one of the largest and most reliable sources of comparable statistics and economic and social data States. The Kingdom of Bahrain has ranked first with respect to the participation of women in senior management position in the public sector at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Report 2013, where the percentage of women employed in the public sector in the administrative senior positions was 45% and exceeded the average in comparison to other countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) which was 29.1%. In addition, the participation rate of Bahraini women in middle management positions amounted to 59%.