Saudi Arabia is the Gulf’s lowest employer of women with almost a quarter of Saudi females unemployed, a new study has found.
Data compiled by Al-Masah Capital shows the oil-rich kingdom has the lowest national level of female participation in the workplace at 18.3 percent, significantly poorer than that seen in Kuwait (41.8 percent), Qatar (40.6 percent) and the UAE (38.4 percent).
At 24.9 percent, the rate of unemployment among Saudi women is more than three times higher than that among Saudi men, the report ‘The Saudi Woman – a catalyst for change?’ found.
Less than one percent of workers in the private sector are women, despite more than 93 percent of Saudi women holding a secondary or university degree.
“This reveals the huge potential for including the Saudi women in the labour force and utilising them in the broader economic development,” the report noted.
“Saudi women could and should become a major growth driver for the country’s diversification policy and reduce the kingdom’s overdependence on oil.”
Despite low unemployment rates, a huge portion of Saudi Arabia’s wealth is in the hands of its women. Females in the kingdom are sitting on a cash pile of $11.9bn, with an additional $2.1bn in investments, the report said. An additional $1.9bn is held in real estate.
“Their economic power cannot be underestimated,” analysts said.
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