Saudi women’s labour market participation jumps to 35% in 5 years

At the 52nd session of the UN’s Human Rights Council, Saudi Human Rights Commission President Hala Al-Tuwaijri revealed a stunning transformation prompted by the Kingdom’s efforts to boost the participation of women in the labour market. The share of women employed in Saudi Arabia jumped to 35% from 21% in five years.

Al-Tuwaijri highlighted the commendable progress made in recent years by the Kingdom in the field of women’s empowerment, which was a strategic goal of Vision 2030 launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016. She brought the Gender Balance Centre in Riyadh under the spotlight, an administrative unit established in 2021 to boost women’s participation levels in the labour market.

These efforts, Al-Tuwaijri further noted, helped increase the share of women in the labour market from 21.2% to 34.7% during the period between 2017 and 2022, in addition to increasing the rate of their economic participation from 17% to 37% during the same time frame.

Figures associated with the percentage of women’s representation in the higher and middle administrative positions also saw a substantial rise, increasing from 28.6% to 39% during the 2017-2021 period, she added.

Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate also experienced a massive drop during the last five years, going from 11.6% to 5.8%.

In addition, in an effort to eliminate all forms of discrimination in the labour market, a national policy was issued to promote equal opportunities and treatment in employment and occupation.

In the context of providing emergency relief supplies to earthquake-affected people of Turkey and Syria, King Salman – in addition to organising a widespread campaign to support the survivors, with more than $160 million already collected – has also developed an air bridge to supply vital resources to the disaster zones.

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