30,000 jobs for Saudi women in industries
By Hamid Al-Attas
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH – In the next three years, the industrial sector will provide 30,000 jobs for Saudi women, Ulfat Qabbani, deputy chairperson of the Industrial Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and deputy chairperson of the Higher Committee for the Federation of Arab Women Investors, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette.
Saudi women have proven their roles in pushing forward the wheel of economic and industrial development, she said.
Qabbani praised Saudi women’s contribution in the industrial sector mainly in four fields – pharmaceuticals, clothing, food and manufacturing.
The Kingdom has taken a number of initiatives to employ Saudi women.
Since 1992, the rate at which women participate in the Saudi national labor force has nearly tripled, from 5.4 percent to 14.4 percent, according to a report by Dr. Mona Al-Munajjed, Senior Adviser at Ideation Center, a leading think tank in the Middle East.
The public sector is the largest employer of Saudi women, and women currently represent around 30 percent of government employees. Around 95 percent of working Saudi women are in the public sector: 85 percent in education, in both teaching and administrative positions, six percent in public health, and four percent in administration.
According to the report, only five percent of working Saudi women were employed by the private sector, the majority in a narrow range of jobs such as private business and banking. At the same time, the number of Saudi women working in the private sector increased by 27 percent over two years, from 40,000 at the beginning of 2006 to 51,000 at the end of 2007.
As part of the Saudization process, the Ministry of Labor has recently stated that it would be suitable for women to work as receptionists, tailors, banquet-hall employees, nutritionists, governesses, photographers, beauticians, caterers, and hospitality and recreation-industry workers.
Saudi Gazette - 30,000 jobs for Saudi women in industries
