Saudi Gazette MANY Saudi women have an optimistic views toward their future career path in the Saudi market, after the Ministry of Labor and Social Development's declarations of it initiatives within Vision 2030. They believe that these initiatives will provide more chances for Saudi women to hold managerial positions, and give them the opportunity to participate in developing the country's economy. The ministry plans include reducing the gap in the labor force as well as creating more job opportunities for both men and women equally, and entering into strategic partnerships with the private sector while aiming to increase the number of women in the workforce. A published report by the General Authority for Statistics' in 2015, revealed that the number of Saudi women participating in the workforce in 2015 was 1.2 million compared to 4.4 million Saudi men. According to one of Saudi Gazette articles, a report that was published by Pearl Initiative in 2015, revealed that women in senior positions in the Kingdom and Qatar were ranked the lowest among its GCC neighbors. Saudi Gazette interviewed the Head of Executive Search and Recruitment in Special Direction Business Consultancy House, Hashim Geoffrey, to know more about Saudi women holding managerial positions in the Kingdom. He explained that though some companies are hiring females in managerial positions they are not that many. Geoffrey said, "In my opinion, reasons would vary from not suitable office setup for women or team members are all men or it could be because management had previous negative experience from hiring a woman. Some reasons might be valid. But companies will need to have a plan to acquire more females in leading roles." When Geoffrey was asked about the aligning of the Vision 2030 and Saudi women empowerment, he answered that it seemed to him for the majority of Saudi women, retail, education and manufacturing industries, are promising sectors for mass women employment. "Of course for superstar women there are no limitation to work in any industry or functions. It is important to notice that most of requests that we receive to hire women are in Human Resources. I think this will continue because Saudi government is enforcing to hire Saudis, especially women, for this function," he added. Ghada Ahmed, is a Saudi woman, and she is manager of planning and development in one of the companies. She explained that the situation of the Saudi women in the workforce currently is positive, yet in her opinion it is limited for females with higher education. She said, "I find that the woman will have a chance to hold more senior positions in the future and this will definitely reflect on the economy and we will have more investment opportunities in the areas of training and education." Amani Jamal, a marketing manger in Unilever KSA, explained that the Saudi women are stepping up. She mentioned that she is proud to be one amongst them. "They have reached so far and the journey is getting better year on year. The literacy rate of Saudi women now is 91 percent compared to 2 percent in 1970," she said, adding that "Women are becoming more educated and university degree holders and currently, 60 percent of Saudi university students are females." Jamal said, "The Vision 2030 will definitely take Saudi women many steps forward with all the great initiatives and agendas; putting many projects on the table such as promoting culture and entertainment, sustainability...etc which will create new jobs and career opportunities for both women and men and will highlight new talents in the Saudi market." Moreover, "investing further in education" to fit the market need to have our young women and men ready for the job and "providing equal opportunities" for men and women so they can contribute to the best of their abilities. "All these visions will support the trend of growth of the Saudi women's career in the Saudi market. And yet, more opportunities are to come and more doors are to be opened for the ambitious Saudi woman," she said. She mentioned that she started as a marketing assistant brand manager in Alsafi Danone in Riyadh, worked there for 3 years , then moved to Jeddah to continue my career in Unilever as a brand manager for Dove hair in the hair category in the marketing division. After continuous achievements and recognitions, I was promoted to lead the full hair category. "I have been working as a marketeer for 8 years now. In my 5 years at Unilever, I have achieved professional and personal development. Professionally, I was able to lead a total brand's portfolio, launched a new brand in KSA, took leadership against competition in certain channels and executed world class innovations in the market. Personally, I am leading a full functional team of Saudi men and women, learned how to be influential among supporting functions and most importantly, my daughters are proud of who I am and where I have reached in my career," she said.
