International Women’s Day – Saudi Arabia

MRL® was at the World Defence Show in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where our Executive Director led a session on increasing the presence and performance of women in the defence sector to promote a more diverse workforce. Hosted by the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) in the Kingdom from the 6th to 8th March 2022, the event showcased the latest developments in global military technology and demonstrated defence interoperability across air, land, sea, space, and security. It also featured keynote presentations from top military leaders and senior executives of defence industry organisations. There were also several panel sessions where participants engaged in lively conversation on the prospects and value of the industry and shared aspirational stories and advice for intending professionals.

A major highlight of the event was the launch of the International Women in Defence thought leadership, which coincided with International Women’s Day 2022, and featured a global campaign to celebrate the achievements of women, raised awareness against bias, and generate strategies to take action for equality and accelerate gender parity. In her presentation during this event, Dr Roni emphasised the role of data in addressing issues with representation of women in the defence sector while highlighting the progress made in recent years, especially in the host country. She reiterated the need to maintain momentum on a global level towards a representative workforce, and extolled the relevance of the World Defence Show as a unique platform and opportunity to build on the successes already attained.