Gender equality is considered as a challenge that human society need to overcome in order for its long term sustainability. This paper looks at the factors that may be barriers to women rise to leadership in Saudi higher education institutions. Education sector is by far the largest employer for Saudi women and is one of the sectors where women should expectedly face minimum barriers to rise to leadership. Saudi government has recently introduced many reforms (under the 2030 vision) which are expected to have a direct impact on women empowerment. This research is one of the very few researches conducted into the impact of the 2030 vision on women leadership in Saudi Arabia.Data for this research was collected using semi structured interviews with Saudi women working in Saudi higher education institutions. Data was thematically analysed. Results indicate that Saudi women have faced a number of barriers in rising to leadership positions but the 2030 vision is expected to lower many of these barriers. Furthermore, this research finds that using direct references towards women empowerment in government policy statements is likely to lead to more effective outcomes in lowering barriers to women's rise to leadership in the Kingdom.