JEDDAH, 20 March 2007 — Abdulwahid Al-Homaid, deputy minister of labor, said yesterday that women in Saudi Arabia make up 17 percent of the work force, and nearly half of them (47 percent) are non-Saudis.

Speaking at a forum on women in business in Jeddah yesterday, Al-Homaid said that unemployment among women is gradually diminishing, however, Saudi Labor Ministry statistics show that unemployment of Saudi women increased from 21 percent in 2002 to 26 percent in 2006. However, 66 percent of Saudi university students are women.

“These numbers show that the entrance of women in the working field is inevitable and needed,” he said.

He said that social obstacles including the transportation problems and unpleasant working environments are the major factors driving the unemployment.

“Some fields of study at universities do not match the available slots in the working field,” he added.

The ministerial council has called for an expansion in the working field for Saudi women through establishing women departments in the sectors that serve women. The Ministry of Labor itself took the lead and opened women’s departments in Riyadh and its branches in Jeddah and Dammam, as well as at the offices of the Human Resources Development Fund.

He said some contradictory opinions regarding women working delayed the process of employing them. Some were calling women to work in all fields with no limits, while others wanted to limit the existence of women.

“The result was the delay of implementing the decision of women working in places selling lingerie and other private needs of women,” he said, referring to a government initiative to phase out men in retail and services that target women, such as lingerie beauty products shops.

A survey done by IPSOS Research Company showed that 93 percent of women university graduates are looking for jobs and ready to work, but failed to find the opportunities. The same survey also showed that an equal percentage of men and women do not mind buying from women sellers.

A questionnaire’s results during the session showed that 65 percent of the attendees agreed to see women standing behind the counters in stores selling apparel while the rest thought it would go against public morals for women sales clerks to work in a environment where they may be serving male customers.

One attendee Aisha Al-Manie, during the after-lecture discussion, was demanding an explanation to why women are not among the decision makers in the government. She said that she has worked for the Ministry of Labor since 1973 and still has no decision-making authority.

Al-Homaid replied however, that on the contrary, the ministry has women consultants who are actually university professors.

Some of the attendees were saying that giving the space for women to work would threaten the employability of Saudi young men because women will fill their places. “We do not favor a gender at the expense of another. We support whoever is willing to work,” he said. “However, applicants must be qualified and educated in order to have a slot in the working field.”

He added that 86 percent of the applicants during the job campaign in 2005 were holders of high school and intermediate schools certificates.

“One of the applicants had an intermediate school degree and yet was unsatisfied with his SR1,700 salary, although he demonstrated career instability having worked in 11 jobs and did not last,” he said.