Omani Women's Day... It is not just a day

Omani women have always played an important role in society but today their roles are evolving to be part of the nation's development process.
Today, society has expectations of them. Not to just excel on an individual basis but to contribute. In order to achieve this, there have been many initiatives that have been put forward and what is encouraging are the private and public sectors' partnerships.
Innovation is the key word.
Oman’s national economic diversification goals actively encourage the participation of women in software development, data science, engineering, and renewable energy sectors to foster long-term innovation.
Then there is 'SHE STEMS' Initiative that was launched by Oman Cables Industry in collaboration with the then Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. The objective of the programme is to upskill unemployed young Omani women (ages 24–30) with engineering degrees or diplomas for roles in manufacturing, tech, and industrial sectors. Now advancing through multiple editions, it provides accredited hands-on training and career placement support.
There have been institutional support for example through the academic bodies such as the Oman Society of Engineers and local universities by hosting regular Women Engineers Forums and technical competitions to bridge the transition from education to industrial and tech careers.
That transition from education to industry is most important because the scenario changes from a sheltered setting to a professional field. This is when one needs mentors to guide, but individually we need to be a professional in every way and practice resilience. It is easy to give up but it takes patience to learn and groom ourselves to fit in and then create a space for yourself.
What we studied may not be exactly what we are going to do initially. At the same time being a woman she will see her role in life go through transformations from being a daughter (when she is carefree), to a wife, a mother and so on. People might say men would also have the same responsibilities. But the roles vary and the successful ones strike the right balance.
The fact is women with children at times find it harder to climb the ladder than men with children. It is not in the minds of the mothers but in the perception of others.
It is a competitive world and being professional is the only way to survive but that does not necessarily mean we have to sacrifice empathy.
A professional performs regardless of their mood.
Just having a degree does not make us a professional. It has nothing to do with how we dress or the income we earn.
Professionalism is a mindset incorporated with a set of standards that govern how you perform and it becomes so strong that it becomes part of you. It defines your level of performance, handling of responsibilities including the quality of social interaction.
According to the experts, professionalism can be broken into five fundamental qualities — competency and mastery, reliability and accountability, integrity and ethics, respect and emotional and maturity and self - regulation. Self-regulation is when we can keep our personal biases or emotions from interfering with sound judgement, maintaining focus and representing our organisation or role effectively.
Once we achieve, then what?
While we build our career path there is also a call to action.
A significant part is mentorship and networking. We have had mentors and years later it would be your turn to be a mentor.
There is definitely a need for experienced female leaders lifting up the younger generation through mentorship programmes. There is nothing as satisfying as sharing your experiences and being there for someone else who is starting their journey. Obviously, we move on too as continuous growth is a necessity.
The remaining frontiers continue to exist for individuals who want to increase executive leadership roles, promoting work-life integration, and expanding technical skills for the digital age. At this point, we must ensure that we are AI efficient. Remember one generation of typists who were left behind when computers and keyboards arrived. This meant shorthand writing and stenography became redundant. Then we saw it happen again with mobile technology, however this time around everyone felt the need to join the movement towards technology.
On the other hand, what interests me is also the development and achievements of women from the rural areas.
There has been an interesting programme titled Omani Coastal Women Development Programme. It was launched in 2021 in partnership with the Zubair Enterprises Development Centre (Zubair EDC) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation. The programme supports and builds the business capacities of coastal women engaged in small-scale invertebrate and seafood processing. It culminated in the launch of Meena, a brand that elevated local fisheries products for regional and national markets.
In another project, the FAO partnered with national entities to build the skills of groups of coastal women in Al Musannah, focusing on value-chain participation, processing, and economic independence. Women are playing a significant role in aquatic value chains. FAO studies highlight that Omani coastal women contribute heavily across the sector — including collecting shells, picking sea cucumbers, gathering oysters, mending nets, and processing or marketing traditional products like sun-dried baby shark known as Awal.
So there could be a bigger role for women to explore with innovation and research in the area of blue economy.
So Omani Women's Day is not just as a celebration of past milestones, but it is a renewed commitment to an inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous future for Oman.