Saudi Arabia Leads Globally in Women’s AI Training Under Vision 2030, Over 600,000 Women Trained

Riyadh: Under the ambitious Vision 2030 framework, Saudi Arabia is emerging as a global leader in digital transformation, particularly in preparing women to take front-line roles in artificial intelligence (AI). Government initiatives combined with private-sector programs are equipping Saudi women for leadership in the AI era.

Speaking to Arab News, Vice President of AI Research at Human, Arib Al-Owaishq revealed that Saudi Arabia now leads the world in gender balance in AI training, demonstrating the Kingdom’s strong commitment to advancing women in technology. She emphasized that this momentum extends beyond training into innovation, making Saudi Arabia a model for other nations.

Arib Al-Owaishq, who has over 20 years of experience developing early Arabic AI models, highlighted that the Kingdom’s achievements are the result of decades of investment in education, coupled with the 2016 economic “pivot.” Foundational programs like the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship have supported over 100,000 men and women for higher education abroad, while the King Abdullah Scholarship Program, launched in 2005, assisted more than 250,000 citizens.

Domestically, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University has provided decades of education for women in medicine and engineering. By 2017, female graduates in Saudi Arabia had outnumbered male graduates. Vision 2030, launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, further accelerated women’s participation in the workforce, raising the target from 22% to 30%, which surpassed 36% by 2025—achieved ahead of schedule—thanks to legal reforms, the lifting of driving bans, and anti-harassment measures.

Investment in emerging technologies has surged, with spending on tech growing 56% in 2024 and AI companies securing $9.1 billion in funding. Saudi Arabia became the first Arab country to join the Global Partnership on AI and is hosting an international research center under UNESCO in Riyadh.

The Saudi Data and AI Authority, in collaboration with Google Cloud, launched the “Elevate Initiative” to train 25,000 women, while over the past year, more than 666,000 women have received data and AI training. According to Stanford University’s 2025 AI Index, Saudi Arabia ranks first globally in empowering women in AI, while women make up only 22% of the global AI workforce.

This remarkable progress positions Saudi Arabia as a global benchmark for gender-inclusive AI leadership and digital innovation.