Al-Riyadh Data issued by the General Statistics Authority show that unemployment reached 12.1 percent between 2015 and 2016, and was up from 11.6 percent the year before. The number of unemployed Saudis was 693,784 by the third quarter of 2016; of these some 493,000 were women. The increase in unemployment clearly indicates that there are not enough jobs for both men and women. We have to realize that jobs are created in two different ways – the expansion of the private sector and the establishment of small businesses. I would like to focus on facilitating procedures for women to launch small businesses. Women should be allowed to start boutiques and shops selling women's clothes, shoes, gold, accessories, flowers, decorations, furniture, curtains, watches, perfumes, etc. The Ministry of Labor and Social Development, together with the Small and Medium Scale Enterprise General Authority, should work together to help women set up establishments in these fields. The ministry could develop regulations for women who want to start small businesses while the authority could finance women who want to start small businesses. It is not enough to encourage families to start small businesses by selling homemade goods at traditional exhibitions and fairs. These initiatives come to an end once the exhibitions are over. We should regulate this market for women and allow them to launch viable long-term businesses. Women have proved to be more successful than men. Dr. Ibrahim Al-Shafi, the director of the Saudization program at the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, said: "Women are better than men when it comes to productivity levels and retention of employees." Women should be given the same opportunities as men to prove that they can start successful small businesses and manage them as efficiently as men. The authorities should support women and trust them because women can reduce unemployment and play an active role in bolstering the economy.
