Women’s participation in middle and senior administrative positions in Saudi Arabia reached 42.5 percent during the Q2 of 2023. Dr. Hanadi Al-Hokair, female enablement general director at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) made the revelation on the sidelines of the Global Labor Market Conference, which took place in Riyadh.
Meanwhile, Majid Al-Dahwi, deputy minister for localization at MHRSD, also revealed the signing of 26 agreements supporting the empowerment and training of women in many sectors at the event.
MHRSD held the conference in partnership with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the World Bank. More than 6,000 participants from 40 countries attended, including several ministers, government officials, leaders, and heads of organizations. Representatives from the academic sector also attended.
Increasing Saudi women’s participation
Al-Dahwi highlighted that the most promising sectors covered by the agreements include energy, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. Other sectors included are information technology, tourism, and entertainment. In addition, the agreements will seek to establish cooperation with universities and high-level training institutions.
He also pointed out that there are currently more than 155,000 flexible work contracts available for women in Saudi Arabia, and that around 120,000 women work remotely in the kingdom.
Al-Dahwi emphasized that the MHRSD is constantly undertaking reforms and developing programs in the labor market to empower women. He announced a new agreement with Oracle Academy targeting 50,000 seats for new work arrangements. This includes freelance work, remote work, and flexible work.
Saudi Arabia’s goals
Saudi Arabia is eyeing a 40 percent rate for women’s participation in the labor market by 2030. This came after the actual participation rate increased from 17 to 35.3 percent in 2021. These numbers exceeded the goal set by Vision 2030 by 30 percent.
Read: Saudi Arabia heads International Monetary Fund’s IMFC
Initiatives that support women
Dr. Al-Hokair explained that the ministry has worked extensively to allocate initiatives that support the empowerment of Saudi women. The most important of these include introducing modern work arrangements that have flexible work schemes. The number of beneficiaries of this arrangement as of September 2023 reached about 13,000. This represents 54 percent of the total beneficiaries.
Moreover, the Ministry launched The Freelance Program. The number of female beneficiaries in the same period reached more than one million. This represents 59 percent of the total beneficiaries.
Al-Hokair added that the ministry launched the Qurrah program. The program aims to enable Saudi working women to join and continue in the labor market. Thus, it provides financial support for childcare services. Additionally, the program has served more than 25,000 Saudi beneficiaries so far since its launch in 2017.
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