Today we publish, for the third year in a row, the annual Top 20 Business-women’s Supple-ment in Arab News.

When the editorial board in Arab News decided to embark on this venture, some people scoffed at the idea; they thought it premature. Yes, they said, there is a handful of Saudi businesswomen — but far too few to merit a whole supplement. We did not see it that way. Knowing that the sector was far bigger than just a few prominent businesswomen and convinced that it was going to grow fast, we stuck to our guns. We were optimistic, believing that Saudi women entrepreneurs wanted to encourage other women to enter the market, had a story to tell and would seize the chance to do so.

Years before, we had initiated the Arab News Top 100 Saudi Companies list and made it an integral part of the business calendar. It was the success of that which inspired the Top 20 Businesswomen’s Supplement. It was felt that, with the opening up of business opportunities and the effects of globalization following the Kingdom’s entry into the WTO, a supplement on the emergence of women in business would serve as a gauge for others and be a clear indicator of their presence in Saudi business and industry.

However, it has not been easy sailing. That is still the case. We dispatched e-mails, faxed forms, told businesswomen about it by phone and did umpteen things to explain to them the value of the list. The response has been disappointing, indeed puzzling.

Some thought it was a competition!

The naiveté of some businesswomen surprised us and took us back years when we started the Arab News Top 100 Companies list.

What has puzzled us is the lackadaisical approach to the whole project. Only two of the respondents promptly filled out the forms correctly.

What we also discovered was that those actually in business were far less scientific and professional than the aspiring young women business entrepreneurs who started their projects with the help of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Fund. These aspiring young ladies — the businesswomen of tomorrow — give us hope.

However, hope for the future does little to inspire confidence in the current state of affairs. Despite fairly intense media coverage and some help from the Saudi Chambers of Commerce & Industry, the situation is far from what it should be. A lack of business knowledge, an absence of corporate ideals and standards, and a cavalier attitude are the uncomfortable hallmarks of where many women’s businesses stand today.

A number of Saudi businesswomen got where they are today thanks to wealthy families, the right contacts and a modern Western education. That is fine. But there are plenty of people in the West who have had that — and it has been no guarantee of commercial success. What is needed here in Saudi Arabia is a more serious approach. Business is not a hobby, something to while away the time. There are some remarkable businesswomen around who are dedicated and highly professional. But for every one of them, it seems there are others who are not.

Women who control and manage their businesses have to have the skills, the professionalism, the serious-mindedness that business demands. They need to appreciate the value of research. They need to be media-savvy. It has been surprising how many little understand the value of good publicity and basic consistency.

It is never too late to learn. Some businesswomen would profit immeasurably either by going on a part-time business training course or taking time off and going to business school.

We, in Arab News, have always been supporters of women — be it socially or business-wise. And we will continue to do so despite our disappointment at the response.

The only silver lining in the cloud is the emergence of hard-working, serious, young women entrepreneurs who have borrowed initial capital and set themselves up in business. They will surely see their investments blossom.