The increasing participation of women in Saudi Arabia's workforce is expected to boost the country’s economy by $39 billion, or 3.5 per cent, by 2032, if the current rate of growth continues, according to S&P Global Ratings.
Labour market reforms have led female labour force participation for Saudi nationals to nearly double to almost 36 per cent in 2022, from 19 per cent in 2016, the rating agency said in a new report.
This boosted the overall participation rate to a record high of 61.7 per cent in March 2023, compared with a record low of 54.2 per cent in June 2017.
While the biggest jump in Saudi Arabia's female labour force participation has clearly already happened, even smaller, steady increases would continue to benefit the world’s 17th largest economy.
“We calculate that increases in overall participation rate of just 1 percentage point per year (ppt) over the next 10 years would boost the country’s annual real GDP [gross domestic product] growth by an average of 0.3 ppt, to 2.4 per cent per annum (versus 2.1 per cent), assuming that labour force productivity growth for the next 10 years will look the same as the last 20 years,” S&P research analysts said in the report.
Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 diversification programme, announced in 2016, aims to boost women's participation in the workforce, among other objectives.
The initiative targets increasing employment opportunities for women, especially in the private sector, to three million by 2030 and increasing female labour force participation to 30 per cent by the same time.
Saudi Arabia's economy grew by 1.2 per cent in the second quarter of this year, a slightly faster pace than the initial estimates, driven by a sharp expansion in the non-oil sector of the Arab world's biggest economy.
The country has been working to diversify its economy away from oil with a number of government programmes to spur business and create jobs. The Vision 2030 agenda plans to lower the Saudi unemployment rate to 7 per cent.
The unemployment rate for Saudi women fell sharply to 16.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, from 20.2 per cent a year ago, while it reached 4.6 per cent for men, down from 5.1 per cent a year earlier, the General Authority for Statistics (Gastat) said in June.
Female representation in the labour force increased to 36 per cent over the past three years, from 20 per cent, Jadwa Investment said in an April report. The increase was spurred by expanding childcare and transport services, which added to new job opportunities in developing sectors such as tourism, leading to more women joining the labour market, it said at the time.
Sixty per cent of Saudi women are employed in the public sector, while nearly 67 per cent of working expatriate women are employed in other sectors such as non-profit organisations, domestic work, and regional and international organisations, the S&P report found.
Higher education drives female advancement, according to S&P. Only 16 per cent of employed expatriate women in Saudi Arabia hold a bachelor’s degree and 41 per cent of them have only some level of secondary education, highlighting the education and the types of degrees women generally attain in the country, it said.
“A plurality of Saudi women (35 per cent) work as managers, followed by clerical jobs (21 per cent). Among expatriate women workers, nearly 80 per cent are engaged in sales/service roles (travel attendants, personal service workers, etc) or elementary occupations (cleaning, domestic and office help) involving physical labour,” the report said.
While globally, men are still more likely than women to work outside the home, the disparity has narrowed significantly in the past 50 years, S&P said, adding that Saudi Arabia is taking steps to close this gap.
Overall female labour force participation rate (nationals plus expatriates) in the kingdom jumped to 35 per cent in 2022 from 17 per cent in 1999, with most of the increase coming since 2016, according to S&P estimates.
The increase in Saudi Arabia’s share of working women can be attributed to “improved female education and cultural liberalisation”.
Nearly 32 per cent of women aged 25 and up in the country held at least a bachelor’s degree in 2020, versus 26 per cent in 2017, higher than in some other developed or regional peers, the report said.
The female share of graduates from science, technology, engineering and mathematics programmes stood at 36.8 per cent in 2018 – on par with or above countries like the US (38 per cent), the UK (34 per cent), France (32 per cent) and Germany (28 per cent).
Other measures introduced by Saudi Arabia to reduce the impediments to women joining the labour force include allowing them to drive, increasing remote and hybrid work arrangements, dropping the need for a male guardian to consent to a woman starting a business, and increasing the number of female jobs in the military, S&P said.
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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
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Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
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ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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