The Secretary General of the Higher Council for Planning and Development in Kuwait Dr. Khalid Mahdi expressed his joy at the launch of the second phase of the leadership training on behalf of the patron of the ceremony, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Mrs. Hind Sabih Barak Al-Subeih, which is implemented by Social Sciences at Kuwait University within the framework of the national cooperation between the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development, the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Commission for the empowerment of women and gender equality for the implementation of the project to support the State of Kuwait in the implementation of the fifth goal of sustainable development goals on "gender equality"

This came during the opening speech delivered by Dr. Khalid Mahdi, the sponsor's representative for the launch of the 8th Women's Forum under the slogan "Women and Leadership" Which will be held under the patronage of the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and the Minister of State for Economic Affairs, Mrs. Hind Barak Al-Subeih on Monday, October 22 and continue until October 24, 2018
He stressed on the importance of such initiatives, which are aimed at enhancing the leadership capabilities of Kuwaiti women to contribute effectively to the national development of the State of Kuwait. In spite of all the efforts made in this field, women occupy high positions in the public and private sectors worldwide. Dr. Mahdi added that discrimination against women is still evident in many sectors and that we must make more efforts which will be a long journey but not impossible. Women's participation in the labor market is lower than men compared to the high rates of female students.
Dr. Khalid Mahdi also indicated that it is clear that many challenges faced women's access to decision-making positions, where official statistics still showed modest numbers and percentages of female leadership positions. The gap between women and men remained high in the government sector, stressing that the need to stimulate an enabling environment Women from work and productivity and access to leadership positions is a must , so we need to promote investment in building national capacities and stimulate creativity and innovation in enhancing leadership skills and communication with the public.
for his turn, the Dean of College of Social Sciences and Chairman of the Forum, Prof. Hamoud AlQashaan said that this forum enhances the potential partnership between the college, state institutions, regional and international institutions in an effort to enable the College of Social Sciences to be a partner in the development of the State of Kuwait.
Prof. AlQashaan pointed out that women began to take serious steps towards leadership positions, expressing his pride that the first female minister in the Government of Kuwait is a faculty member of College of Social Sciences. He also mentioned that women are half the society and they participate in decision-making. It is their ambition to empower women in all areas to become stronger and to have a clear and influential participation in society.

For his part, the representative of the United Nations Development Program for Women Mr. Khalid Shahwan said that the forum emphasizes Kuwait's endeavor to empower women to decision-making sites, adding that the forum highlighted the role of the center as a successful outcome in establishing partnerships that support women's empowerment with the United Nations Development Program to empower Kuwaiti women in various fields.
Shahwan stressed the importance of such meetings in supporting women and acquiring the skills and strategies that help them in exchanging experiences in the field of leadership and interaction positively, which is one of the most important programs of the State of Kuwait in support of sustainable development and gender equality.
Mr. Shahwan explained that the partnership between the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development, Women’s Research and Studies Center, the United Nations Development Program, and UN Women is to continue the work of programs, initiatives and courses aimed at investing in opportunities for the empowerment of women.
He stated that this work comes within the framework of achieving the development vision in the State of Kuwait (new Kuwait), which aims to invest in the human element, pointing out that the empowerment of women is not limited to a specific area, but covers all areas and sectors in the country.

For her part, the head of the Center for Women's Studies and Research at the College of Social Sciences, Dr. Lubna AlQadhi, said in a speech that the challenges facing women are much greater than the challenges facing men in leadership positions, but they always seek to prove their existence and their legitimacy in society.
Dr. AlQadhi praised the increase in the number of women pioneers, where the empowerment of women in the political leadership in the Arab world 18% and 24% in the world at the level of economic leadership amounted to 15% and there are increasing numbers.
In addition, Dr. AlQadhi indicated that since its inception, the center has been working towards partnerships aimed at supporting Kuwait's national plan to support women and achieve the fifth goal of sustainable development of the United Nations in supporting and empowering women.