Saudi women assemble light fittings at a factory near Riyadh. Photo: Brian Whitaker

In a new move to increase employment among Saudi women, the kingdom’s labour ministry has announced that businesses will soon be compelled to provide transport for their female workers.

Getting to and from work is a major problem for Saudi women (as I explained in a previous blog post) since they are not allowed to drive and public transport, such as it is, is generally considered unsuitable for women. 

According to Arab News, the ministry’s decision follows a study by Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry which found that about 46% women face daily problems with transport, compared only 27% of men.

Around half of Saudi women employ drivers to take them to work, a quarter are dropped off by male relatives and 12% use taxis. 

In future, the paper says, “business owners will have to provide transport to [female Saudi] employees, either by using their own vehicles or through contracting taxi companies, or pay them transportation allowances”.

While this might sound like a good idea in theory, it’s yet another example of the back-to-front way that the Saudi government tackles these problems. It’s happening because the authorities daren’t yet grasp the nettle of allowing women to drive.

It also deals with only one part of the problem – travel too and from work – rather than the broader issue of women’s right to step outside their home and move around in safety.

Furthermore, by adding to the cost of employing Saudi women it may also discourage firms from taking on more female workers.

Despite that, the government’s “feminisation” programme has been fairly successful over the last few year (at least in Saudi terms). The number of Saudi women working in the private sector has risen steadily from 48,406 in 2009 to 100,000 in 2011, then 200,000 in 2012 and almost 400,000 last year. This total is still very low, though, considering that the kingdom has around nine million female citizens. For comparison, about 1.1 million Saudi men work in the private sector.

There are also some indications that Saudi women are being paid less than Saudi men. Last year, the average pay of Saudis working in the private sector fell by 1%, which the Economist Intelligence Unit attributed to increased female employment.

In contrast, average pay of foreigners in the private sector rose by 25% – apparently due to labour shortages caused by the 
mass expulsion of “illegal” expatriate workers. 

There are still many in the kingdom who reject the idea of Saudi women working at all, and others who think that if they do work they should be confined to a limited range of occupations that are considered “suitable” for women.

Nursing, a traditional source of female employment in many countries, might be expected to be among the “respectable” professions for Saudi women – but apparently not. Nurses in the kingdom are battling to overcome negative stereotypes, according to the Saudi Gazette:

“Psychology consultant and member of Amnesty International, Dr Huda Al-Sharif, said the negative image of women nurses is due to the stereotypical claims of long working hours, employees working during Haj and mixing with men, in addition to others.

“She explained there are nurses working in women only hospitals and clinics as well as some private hospitals that have dedicated sections for women. ‘The problem is complicated and caused by the accumulation of numerous negative stereotypes of nurses,’ she said.

“She pointed out that the issue requires an immediate solution and can be a major threat to society if it continues, as women may well become reluctant to specialise in nursing.”

Wafaa, a nurse interviewed by the paper, is quoted as saying that her family were at first against her working as a nurse, but her persistence finally convinced them.

Writing on the Crossroads Arabia blog, John Burgess comments:

“Nursing as a profession is also a societal flashpoint. Nurses have to deal with patients and their bodies. They might even have to deal with patients of the opposite sex – and their bodies. And there’s the problem. Saudi society has developed an unnecessary linkage between bodies and sex and sex is a highly regulated (in principle) subject. Until recently, only Saudi orphans could work as nurses because – as they had no families to be ashamed – they were viewed as shameless.

“That attitude hasn’t changed much … Saudi women still have to deal with stereotypes (from God-knows-where) that nursing is somehow comparable to immoral behaviour. Hospital, to the dismay of some, means the mixing of the sexes in the workplace. Worst of all, it includes bodies. Sometimes, naked bodies that have to be touched. This might be acceptable for expat nurses (God knows their morals are already questionable), but it is not acceptable for good Saudi women.”

    
Posted by Brian Whitaker
Thursday, 7 August 2014