SME

A recently concluded conference highlighted the progress made by Saudi women in the workforce, and suggested ways to nurture their development and entrepreneurship skills.

The Conference of Women Empowerment and Their Development Role in the Reign of King Salman, organised by the Imam Mohammad bin Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), offered 11 recommendations to support, empower and stimulate the participation of national women forces in various current courses of the economic development.

Over the past few years, authorities have developed new laws and regulations that empower women, such as: judicial bylaws, regulations and circular, the labour bylaw, judicial decisions that enhanced women rights, and policies that strengthened women development role – referring to the increase in percentage of women employed in various fields, such as the diplomatic, judicial, military, and energy sectors, according to Dr. Ahmad bin Salem Al-Ameri, IMSIU rector.

The efforts have increased women participation in economic development, and raised the percentage of women in leading posts in the public and private sectors.

“The recommendations also highlighted the importance of rehabilitating and investing in the national women competencies to participate in international events in order to change the stereotypical image of the Saudi woman, raising the media awareness and increasing social programmes that contribute to preserving indigenous values and heritage of the Saudi women, which enhance moderation according to the teachings of the Islamic Shariah,” according to the Saudi Press Agency

The conference featured seven scientific sessions and five interactive sessions, in addition to an exhibition held with the participation of 30 governmental and private agencies. The conference saw the presentation of 49 refereed scientific papers about the achievements, historical decisions, and reforms related to Saudi women. It also featured 110 male and female speakers.

 

Saudi women’s unemployment rate dropped to 22.3% by the second quarter of 2021, compared to 33.7% in the second quarter of 2016, according to the latest labour survey by the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat).

Saudi women’s labour force participation rate has also surged to 32.4%by the end of the second quarter of this year, compared to a mere 17.7%
in the second quarter of 2020.

Women are also showing a keen initiative to join the private sector, with 93.6% willing to accept a job in the private sector workforce, according to GaStat data.

Nearly 60% of women were also wiling to commute one hour to get to their place of work. As many as 62.2% of the female workforce expressed a willingness to work eight hours, slightly higher than the 59.4% of their male counterparts.

ECONOMIC REFORMS

“Removing regulatory labour constraints that limited the mobility of females in the past and introducing supply-side enablers have both played a crucial role in the increasing female LFPR (labour force participation rate),” according to the Middle East Institute.

In September, Modon, the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, said it has created a specialised training centre in the second industrial city in Riyadh to empower women in the industrial sector.

The project, in partnership with Kafo Charity for Employing and Training, will offer training programmes that align with the requirements of the sector’s labour market.

“The CEO also pointed out that Modon invests in the potential and capabilities of Saudi women through providing a model environment that keeps pace with their ambitions as employees or investors in the industrial sector, noting that Modon succeeded in increasing the number of Saudi women in industrial cities by 120% over the past five years to around 17,000 employees up from 7,860,” according to the Saudi Press Agency.

The Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, reported earlier this year that the reforms to encourage women in the workforce over the past few years are starting to pay off.

“After all, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 reform programme has an explicit objective to increase the female labour force participation rate to over 30%. For now, it looks like this objective was achieved 10 years early,” according to the research group.