Elections in the Kingdom are essentially meaningless.

The fact that the princes of the House of Saud are allowing women the privilege of voting in them is therefore also largely meaningless and essentially a fig-leaf on oppression.

Throughout the 18th Century women were allowed to serve on a number of local school boards and other local councils in the UK but while they had some influence and input in this narrow sphere they were still generally oppressed.

It won't mean anything until the men of Saudi Arabia make the law collectively in a democracy and are willing to accept women into the democratic process.

Remember, before the Shah fell he passed all sorts of reforms relating the equal treatment of women but because he was an absolute monarch it didn't stick once the People took over.