“We are an equal-opportunity organisation and all our programmes are open as much to men as they are to women,” said Tamkeen Chief Executive Abdulellah Al Qassimi, setting the tone for a review of Tamkeen’s policies and programmes in the context of International Women’s Day (8th March).

Yet there is no denying that the very effort to be scrupulously even-handed in presenting opportunities to Bahraini men and women has opened new doors to Bahraini women and helped them to become a part of challenging task of nation-building and participating in the Vision 2030 development matrix of Bahrain’s leadership.

Tamkeen’s approach to women’s empowerment is unique – Tamkeen seamlessly translates its belief in the capacity of women to deliver change and manage development into an internal engine of progress within its management structure as well. Today 56% or 22 of Tamkeen’s 39 staff are women and 73% of them hold senior managerial posts with wide-ranging decision-making power.

To equip them for their work in shaping and implementing policies that will empower Bahrainis and usher in a prosperous and modern nation, Tamkeen’s women employees have equal access to training programmes – 72% of the women staff in Tamkeen have attended training programmes alongside their male colleagues.

“Women’s empowerment at Tamkeen is something that we did not set out to consciously work into our programmes and working style,” Mr. Al Qassimi pointed out, “I think it came embedded in our core values and when we signed up to take forward the leadership’s Vision 2030 development matrix, we found ourselves assessing the impact of our work on all Bahrainis. At that point, we realised that Tamkeen’s programmes allow women access and support to career choices that are different from the usual teacher/caregiver roles they have played so well till the last quarter of the 20th century and encouraged them to step into new nation-building roles.”

Tamkeen has worked closely with different nation-building entities, especially the Supreme Council for Women, to ensure that Bahraini women’s skills and capabilities are used to the fullest in translating the leadership’s Vision 2030 ideals into reality. In this, Mr. Al Qassimi says, the agency has drawn inspiration from the vision, the work and the values espoused by HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ebrahim Al Khalifa, wife of HM King Hamad and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Women.

There has been an increasing representation of Bahraini women across the entire spectrum of Tamkeen’s programmes – 57% of those who participated in various skills gaps training modules were women; 46% of the participants in Tamkeen’s Business Development Scheme were women; women enthusiastically took part in Tamkeen’s training and employment initiatives, making up 50% of this segment’s participants; women have shown ambition and drive by signing up for Tamkeen’s career progression courses, where they make up 20% of the participants and in the Business Ethics development courses, 56% of those  who signed up were women.

So far, Tamkeen has invested more than BD 33 million towards training of women in various Human Capital development programmes, ranging from Aeronautic Engineering to Healthcare, in addition to several other programmes in various sectors.

One of the more ambitious projects that target Bahraini women is the agreement that Tamkeen has signed with the Bahrain Women’s Union (BWU) to train Bahraini women in basic computer applications. The BWU will provide training in basic computer skills to around 900 Bahraini women, in addition to training targeting around 5,500 Bahraini female job seekers in the local labour market. All trainees must be Bahraini nationals and  over 18 years of age. The total cost of this initiative is BD136,700 and the duration of this training programme will be for two months.

Tamkeen has been partnering the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) to help the Bahraini women job seekers to acquire skills and technical support to start up their own small private businesses. Ten Bahraini women were helped to start their own transport business with loans to buy mini-buses; similarly, 28 Bahraini women were supported through the SCW to train in tailoring and design and set up their own tailoring business through the purchase of sewing machines and a grant to start the business.

Under the patronage of HRH Princess Sabeeka and under the auspices of HRH Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, the president of the Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organisations (AGFUND), the Supreme Council for Women in cooperation with Tamkeen and Ebdaa Bank have launched a one million dinar financial Portfolio for Women Empowerment Programmes.

Mr. AlQassimi added, “Tamkeen was awarded the HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa’s Prize for Women Empowerment in 2008 for its work in empowering Bahraini women. We consider the award as a signal to continue our commitment to Bahraini women in all walks of life. Whether we are supporting Bahraini women to start their own transport service with loans to buy mini-buses or whether we are helping organisations such as the Bahraini Women’s Union to train members in basic computer applications; whether we are enabling Bahraini women to become aeronautical engineers, accountants or highly-skilled nurses, our aim is to live up to the vision that Princess Sabeeka has shown us all.”