Saudi Arabia’s women are finding more employment opportunities, a recent report by the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON) revealed.
By the end of the first quarter of 2020 the number of females working in industrial cities was increased up to 17,000 which is about 120 percent, when compared to 7,860 at the end of 2018, MODON’s report shows.
The director-general of MODON, Khaled Al Salem, stated that the authority has come a long way and is still striving to further empower women in the industrial sector.
In 2021, the authority will initiate small prefabricated factories to bring women’s investments in the first Dammam industrial city, a first of its kind experience in the Kingdom. MODON will hold a virtual conference entitled “Women in Industry 2020,” under the patronage of the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Al Kharif, on December 21-22.
Mr. Al Salem further added that MODON will continue to support women both as an employee and an investor in the industrial sector by building an ideal environment in partnership with the public and private sectors.
Khaled Al Salem Director General MODON
“MODON has made the industrial sector more attractive to women through innovative financing products, services and solutions that suit their important role in the national economy. Incentives for working women include the launch of industrial oases, which are characterized by the availability of nurseries, parking spaces and medical and recreational centers.”
Women in Saudi Arabia are expected to play key roles in the development strategy of the country as part of its Vision 2030. During the past decade, there has been a huge rise in the number of Saudi females holding managerial positions, with the Kingdom’s recently enacted new reforms for improving its record of female empowerment and gender equality.
According to the World Bank report on ‘Women, Business, and the Law 2020’, Saudi Arabia has made huge improvements and it holds the top reformer position globally.
The Kingdom has implemented historic reforms to improve women’s participation in the economic sector and introduced measures like freedom of travel and movement for women over the age of 21.
The decrees removed restrictions on women’s ability to leave the house and equalized women’s right to choose a place of residency and further prohibited discrimination based on gender in employment, retirement age and pension, among others.
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