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SCW's Women in Nursery and Kindergarten Sector committee holds first meeting
The Committee on women in the nursery and kindergarten Sector at the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) held its first meeting, chaired by Her Highness Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa.
The meeting reviewed the committee’s key responsibilities, including identifying the challenges and fundamental needs of women working in the nursery and kindergarten sector, proposing general policy through the development of legislation, executive decisions, and administrative regulations to improve the working conditions of women in this domain.
The committee will also propose a regulatory framework for enhancing the conditions and standards for licensing early education institutions, ensuring that the needs of working women in the sector are incorporated. Furthermore, the committee will recommend training and capacity-building programmes to develop the skills of women in the sector and activate coordination mechanisms with relevant ministries, institutions, and official bodies that support early education programmes.
The committee also reviewed the procedures and efforts carried out during the period 2017 – 2023, which included identifying key issues and needs of female workers in early education. Initiatives during this period included the launch of the "National Educator and Teacher Programme" aimed at developing work in nurseries and kindergartens, in collaboration with the University of Bahrain (UOB), the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Education, and funded by the Labour Fund "Tamkeen". The committee also noted the study conducted by Tamkeen on the situation of women working in nurseries and kindergartens.
The meeting discussed proposals from the General Secretariat of the SCW regarding the committee’s work priorities for 2025 – 2026. These include suggestions to develop policies and legislation to improve the employment conditions of female workers in nurseries and kindergartens, and to implement appropriate awareness-raising, training, and capacity-building programmes that contribute to enhancing the quality of the early education sector.
Members also discussed their proposals for the committee’s upcoming priorities in line with its mandate. It was agreed to focus during this phase on completing the study of the conditions of women working in nurseries and kindergartens and reviewing the relevant laws to address their situation.