Women in Bahrain have extensive access to digital infrastructure for personal, business, and educational use. The widespread availability of the internet and digital tools has long facilitated their engagement with the digital environment, enhancing their digital literacy to match other segments of society. Furthermore, Bahraini women hold the top global ranking in digital skills training.
The Kingdom has taken additional steps towards advancing and empowering women in the technology field in multiple initiatives and programs such as Halcyon, AWS Summit Bahrain (gender progress and digital transformation), Amazon Web Services and C5 Nebula “Women in Tech Forum”.
The Technical Development Program is conducted by the Information & eGovernment Authority, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, aiming to help achieve sustainability, fairness, and competitiveness in both the public and private sectors and to optimize government spending by reducing costs, terminating unnecessary external IT contracts, and creating job opportunities for young qualified Bahrainis. Within the program, 75% of the Trainees are women; this indicates the advancement of Bahraini women in the information technology sector and their desire to be an effective component in the wheel of development.
With the global shift towards digitalization, the demand for Information Technology (IT) expertise is at an all-time high. Bahraini women now hold substantial roles in fieild of IT. In 2020, women comprised 42% of the workforce and 31% of managerial positions at the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA). Reflecting its commitment to gender balance, the iGA established an Equal Opportunities Committee, which includes members of both genders from various departments.
In partnership with Bahrain Polytechnic and Brinc-Batelco, the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) launched the Bahraini Women Hackathon, a groundbreaking competition. Under the theme “Challenge and Innovation,” this event was part of the activities celebrating Bahraini Women’s Day 2019, which focused on women in higher education and future sciences.
The competition aimed to showcase and empower the talents of Bahraini women in technical fields, promoting their excellence and innovation. It encouraged their engagement in software development and cutting-edge problem-solving aligned with global trends. This initiative supported the Supreme Council for Women's key priorities, including investment opportunities, entrepreneurship, lifelong learning, family support, quality of life, career progression, supportive work environments, knowledge management, and sustainable development goals.
Further information about Bahraini Women Hackathon (Arabic only) can be viewed on the SCW website.
Several private sector institutions in Bahrain have partnered with the government to develop programs that empower women. These initiatives provide digital skills training, enabling Bahraini women to access and utilize government eServices through the National Portal and eGovernment apps, and enhancing their participation in government eServices and offering them a platform to voice their opinions.
The Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK), in collaboration with the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF), launched a program to train 100 stay-at-home Bahraini women over the age of 20, who have struggled with digital technology. The program aimed to empower these women to better educate their children from home, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing digital transformation.
In a collaborative effort to boost women's empowerment in Bahrain, the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) launched the “Director Development Programme for Women.” This exclusive initiative, developed in partnership with Tamkeen, the GCC Board Directors Institute (BDI), and EMIC Training, aimed to support the advancement of current female executives and volunteers into leadership roles.
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Content Last Updated: 10 Oct, 2024
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