Women’s Empowerment and Authoritarian Resilience: a Critical Analysis of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030

This paper critically examines Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, analyzing its implications for women’s empowerment within the framework of authoritarian resilience. Vision 2030 has introduced significant reforms in education, employment, and entrepreneurship, positioning women as central to the Kingdom’s modernization project. Women now surpass men in higher education and have experienced notable gains in labor force participation, signaling progress in socio-economic inclusion. However, these reforms are embedded within a model of state feminism, where empowerment policies are crafted and controlled by the regime to consolidate legitimacy, enhance global image, and sustain authoritarian stability. By presenting itself as the architect of progress, the state limits grassroots activism while instrumentalizing gender reforms as tools of soft power and nation branding. Ultimately, Vision 2030 expands opportunities for women yet preserves patriarchal structures and political constraints, advancing modernization without fundamentally transforming gender relations or dismantling authoritarian governance.