The challenges for women in the labor market
Jeddah, 18 Jan 2017
In the past couple of years, so many changes have occured in Saudi Arabia at such a dramatic pace. I’m glad to see more women working and participating in public life. When the government allowed women to work in male-dominated jobs such as in supermarkets and shops a couple of years ago, it was unheard of and today it’s a reality.
More and more women are working but numbers tell it differently. 52% of university graduates are female yet they only make up about 18% of the labor force.
The ministry has been successful in allowing women to work in jobs that were strictly occupied by men such as receptionists, clerks, salespersons, and security personnel. Vocational centers and training skills for newly tapped sectors such as telecom industry have been set up to train women how to repair mobile phones. This is not to undermine such jobs but it’s not enough to lower the rate of unemployment alone; more should be done in allowing opportunities for women in middle management levels to reach the upper end of the corporate ladder and include her in leadership positions. There are many women with masters degrees and PhDs not working in their area of expertise.
Traditionally in Saudi Arabia, women predominantly worked in healthcare or education sectors only. Others obtained diplomas in different fields but didn’t necessarily work after university. Today, women are exploring different fields and pursuing degrees in architecture, engineering, physics, social sciences, media, marketing, design, finance, etc.
As a journalist, it’s interesting to meet different people everyday and see the changes taking effect. I get to meet decision-makers and see how labor laws are implemented on the ground.
The students I’ve met and the women’s colleges I’ve visited are expanding their programs and including new ones such as law, international relations, advertising, and film studies.
Around 700,000 Saudis are jobless if the General Authority of Statistics (GAS) is accurate. For women, the unemployment rate is nearly 33%.
In an HR forum recently, when I asked the labor ministry’s undersecretary why their goal is to increase it to merely 30% by 2030, I was given a vague answer that the ministry simply follows KPIs given to them.
Economists should also review if the quota system is effective.
Here are some challenges that are universal for working women around the world and some that are specific to the Saudi environment:
- Transportation.
This obstacle alone can be the only reason for a woman to stay at home and not work if she doesn’t have a committed driver and money to cover Uber costs. One initiative that employers have done to solve this issue is to offer remote working — this has been a successful model for customer service jobs, for example.
- Lack of daycare facilities.
Although some sectors have set up laws to offer daycare for female employees, many organizations don’t fully implement it.
- Segregated offices prevent a natural working environment.
Many organizations have designated offices for women segregated from men. How are employees and executives able to be productive if they are not in contact on a regular basis and meeting face to face? When seven men work in board meetings together and regularly discuss matters, it’s difficult to reach out to the female colleague on the other side of the building who is working in a secluded office and is reached by phone or email. Many people openly said they don’t want to change that for cultural reasons.
- Finding a job.
This is an issue faced by both men and women. According to several economists, many still rely on personal contacts rather than an organized system to look for jobs.
Saudi Arabia is made up of a majority of youth, 70% are under the age of 35. Having a rapidly growing population, especially with a good percentage of highly educated citizens, should not be a burden on the economy. Having human capital — especially youth — is a powerful resource to the country that many other countries lack and it can create positive results at a remarkable pace.
