On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, members of the Women’s Affairs Committee liaison at the Natural History Research Center and Museum/University of Baghdad, Assistant Professor Dr. Hanaa Hani Al-Saffar and Assistant Lecturer Noor Hussein Yousef, participated in a scientific seminar organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in cooperation with the Women’s Affairs Division at the University of Baghdad, and with the participation of the Supreme Council for Women’s Affairs in the Council of Ministers. The seminar, titled “Activating the Executive Quota Towards Fair Representation of Women Working in State Institutions,” was attended by the Prime Minister’s Advisor for Women’s Affairs and academics from all university departments.
The seminar aimed to achieve gender equality in government jobs, empower women to reach leadership positions, reduce the gap resulting from discrimination or social obstacles, and emphasize the need to strengthen women’s role in policymaking and important decision-making that benefits society. The symposium concluded with several recommendations, the most important of which was amending the Civil Service Law by adding a binding article stipulating that the percentage of women in senior executive positions should not be less than 30%, establishing a monitoring and accountability unit in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers to follow up on quarterly representation percentages, and emphasizing the mandatory reliance on the system of shortlisted women’s lists when filling any leadership position.
