Increasing number of Saudi women in the industrial sector

The recent report shows that the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones’ efforts to create a more conducive environment for women to work in are already successful. It emphasizes that 8,000 Saudi women are now working in various industrial cities. This is a rapid growth in comparison with the previous figures, which had already jumped from 5,840 in 2014 to 7,500 by the end of 2017.

Food industries attracted the largest number of women, since 55% of the total work in this specific sector. It is followed by pharmaceutical industries, with 9% of them working there and chemical industries with 7%. The most hiring areas in the country are the central regions such as Riyadh, Qassim and Hail, which hire more than 3,000 of them.

Part of a bigger scheme

The country has witnesses a general growth for women’s participation to the workforce. For instance, there are today 600,000 Saudi women working for the private sector, 30,000 of whom joined the market last September and October and they were only 90,000 back in 2011.

These facts are inherent with the constant efforts made since the beginning of 2017 to increase female participation in the workforce. In order to achieve this bold economic reform plan entailed in Vision 2030, special working zones have been created that follow international standards for women, providing them with the infrastructure, facilities and services they need in these workplaces. In line with this, the Authority emphasizes its plan to establish women-only industries to create more job opportunities for Saudi women, as well as supporting nurseries to take care of the workers’ children.