Only one of the 35 people scheduled to speak at the Feb. 13-16 event is a woman, Swedish Trade Minister Ewa Helena Björling.
According to Madawi Al-Hassoun, former Jeddah Chamber of Commerce board member, some women have also complained about other issues.
“I have heard there are some businesswomen who are unhappy with the JEF this year due to an increase in fees,” she said, adding that some have not received invitations, either.
Al-Hassoun said some of the previous JEF events were well orchestrated by then-chairman of the Jeddah Marketing Board and present SAGIA chief Amr Al-Dabbagh.
“He really taught us how to work and organize a forum, making it the first-ever large-scale event that Saudi women could participate in,” she said.
The number of women has grown significantly, especially under Al-Dabbagh’s direction.
“(In 2004) Al-Dabbagh invited the Saudi Businesswomen’s Committee, part of the JCCI, to take a more active role which strives to accentuate and reinforce the role of businesswomen in the Saudi business community,” said Al-Hassoun.
Speaking about the overall attitude of businesswomen regarding last year’s organization problems, when the JEF had to be canceled due to problems that were not made public, Al-Hassoun has said she believes that some women feel that the credibility of the JCCI was damaged.
“I feel the JEF lost a lot of credibility that must be regained for the reputation of the forum and the city to remain bright,” she said.
Other businesswomen have other ideas about the forum, its credibility, and the alleged reduction in invitations sent to businesswomen.
“If we want our rights we must insist on them; not merely wait for something to happen, but show effort to claim our right to attend the forum,” said former JCCI board member Olfat Al-Kabbani.
Al-Kabbani also said that she and many other businesswomen are looking forward to attending the JEF 2010 and are expecting very good organization this year.
When asked in her opinion why no Saudi women were invited as guest speakers, Al-Kabbani said this is most likely due to the theme of the forum, the global economy, and the lack of Saudi women in the area of economics.
Abdulaziz Al-Sager, chairman of the Gulf Research Center, organizers of the JEF 2010, said the Jeddah Marketing Board and Khadijah Bint Khuwalid Center are responsible for inviting guests. He said that about 370 women have been invited and have registered.
“All the necessary registration can be done online (at http://jef.org.sa) without any problem,” he said.
