Muhammad Al-Ahidib Okaz newspaper I was hoping that those who write about the employment of Saudi women as cashiers would discuss more pressing issues in our society. It would be nice if, for a change, they talked about how we can go about employing Saudis with degrees in jobs that match their academic qualifications. Those who read our newspapers from outside the Kingdom are often misled about issues regarding female employment in the country, and think that the majority of unemployed Saudis do not hold university degrees and their only option is to work as cashiers! These readers would further think that male cashier jobs are fully Saudized and that the only task remaining is to fully Saudize female jobs. Moreover, they would think that jobs at commercial centers and malls, like the position of sales managers or head of public relations, are fully Saudized. People writing these articles also completely forget that the jobs of sales and marketing managers are fully occupied by expatriates, although there are many Saudis who are qualified to fill these jobs. Why are the articles not addressing this? Have they forgotten that those who occupy key positions in places like the food industry are expatriates who control the quality and price of food? Do expatriates hold key positions because corporations do not want to employ Saudis or is it because the Ministry of Labor has failed to enforce Saudization? The majority of people working as cashiers are non-Saudis, with expatriate names like Butrus, Antuwan and Joseph and not Saudi names like Barjis, Muneef or Sunaitaan. It is their presence that controls the fate of female cashiers.
