Women 20 and Aramco announce ground-breaking partnership to promote gender equality

Women 20 (W20), an official G20 engagement group, and Aramco, the world’s largest integrated energy and chemicals company, announced their partnership as part of this year’s Saudi Presidency of the G20.

In the lead up to the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Riyadh in November 2020, W20 will formulate actionable policy recommendations to advance gender equality in G20 negotiations, to be agreed upon by international delegates from all G20 member states. These will form the basis of a communique to G20 Leaders to foster gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.

Aramco announced the partnership during an internal webinar, attended by more than 300 employees, which examined the key focus areas of the partnership, such as women in the workforce, labor inclusion and inclusive decision-making. The webinar featured keynote remarks from W20’s Chair Dr. Thoraya Obaid, followed by a Q&A with Aramco employees, moderated by W20’s Sherpa, Salma Al Rashid.

The W20 will also host a number of expert meetings, roundtables and dialogues virtually and in Saudi Arabia, most notably the Women 20 Summit in October 2020. Aramco has already successfully participated in the Alnahda-W20 Majlis on 24 June, with other business leaders, in addition to the 3rd National Dialogue on 8 July, which aimed to advance the dialogue around challenges faced by Saudi women in the Eastern Province, where Aramco is headquartered.

Announcing the partnership, Women 20’s Sherpa, Salma Al Rashid, stated “Aramco and W20 both share a desire to promote inclusive decision-making for women in the workplace. This partnership with Aramco’s Diversity and Inclusion Team will help further that agenda, in particular in the science and technology (STEM) field, where women are not adequately represented.”

“This is a pivotal year for the gender equality agenda, with 10 years towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the COVID-19 pandemic presents us with an opportunity to rebuild our economies to ensure that gender equality is a priority. We look forward to Aramco’s support in amplifying this message within the G20 international ecosystem,” Ms. Al Rashid added.

Nabil K. Al Dabal, Vice President of Human Resources, Saudi Aramco, stated “I am both proud and excited to announce Saudi Aramco as a leading sponsor of the W20. This aligns directly with our support for Vision 2030, as well as our own goal to be the best place to work for diverse talent.”

The July 13 event focused on:

• Saudi Aramco’s experience in facilitating a more gender-balanced work force
• 2020 circumstances and the gender equality agenda
• Insights on W20 policy focus areas of labor inclusion and inclusive decision-making