The new labor law announced recently by the Saudi Council of Ministers with regard to the employment of women was received with both great enthusiasm and skepticism. All over town people were talking about how finally, women will take their due place within the various fields of the Saudi labor market. Many optimists felt that this declaration was timely, while most skeptics knew that the law in itself was no more than an obstacle in disguise.
One salient article in the new law caught my attention, both for its good intentions, as well as its miscalculated judgment; the one that imposes an obligation on employers to provide childcare to women once they have 50 women on their payroll. Now the intention behind such an article is fair and practical — for a well functioning child care market is indispensable if women are to combine work and family responsibilities — but unfortunately, the method by which the article is to be implemented is outdated and discriminative.
In practice, such a regulation only serves to raise the cost of women’s labor relative to that of men, and thereby is nothing more than disincentives to the private sector employer.
Allow me to explain.
Gender-related legislation in the labor market has evolved from regulations that focus on safeguarding women’s family responsibilities and ensuring their physical security, to more neutral provisions that promote equal pay and equal opportunities between women and men in the workplace. Legislations specifically designed to protect female workers first appeared in the early 1840s, when Great Britain prohibited women from working in mines and restricted their night-time work. During this period, occupational bans and working-hour restrictions for women were often supplemented by mandatory maternity leave. Both types of legislation are still widespread, and they are included among the conventions of the International Labor Organization.
Over time however, as more and more women entered the labor market of nations, regulations that seemed appropriate for the realities of the 19th century were being revised and updated to suit the necessities of the 21st century.
Many cracks and loopholes embedded in certain regulations dictating the employment of women were detected and revised with the intention of coming up with solutions that guaranteed the equitable employment between men and women.
Recently and despite that large influx of women entering the labor market, gender specialists became concerned by the low participation of women in the labor force. One of the reasons behind this low participation as evidenced by international surveys was caused by the enactment of laws such as the one mentioned above. What happened in such cases was that employers would resort to manipulative measures (such as employing a number of women way below the quota requirement) so as to avoid the added cost that resulted if they were to abide to the terms stipulated in the legislation.
After thorough research and investigation, it was concluded that the only equitable solution to the problem would be to lobby with policymakers of nations to revise these laws so as to ensure equal opportunity to men and women alike. The ideal revised version would be for employers to establish the day care units once a quota of x number of “employees” is achieved.
By simply substituting the term “women” for the term “employees”, equal opportunity of employment would be guaranteed. Employees, men and women alike need day care services for their children. After all, the purpose of day care services is to assist employees in ensuring the well being of their families. But ultimately, the main beneficiary from such legislation and its ensuing advantage is the nation to which those employees belong.
There is a new social reality that is emerging, and nations would be all the much wiser to prepare for it. Local competition is tough and international competition is tougher. As a result, the traditional Saudi family is shifting from having the male member as the primary income generator and bread winner, to women stepping in and sharing that responsibility. In order to ensure adequate family welfare, the newly founded Saudi labor law must not fail to recognize that women need greater flexibility in employment if they are to balance their multiple roles as mothers, wives, workers, and citizens; and employees need the necessary incentives to guarantee their employment. The hiring of women must be made attractive to employers through various financing mechanisms or subsidies for specific needs such as maternity leave and childcare so that the cost of male and female labor is comparable.
By so doing, the new Saudi labor laws would enable employers to carry on with their responsibility of equitable job creation and economic enhancement without having to worry about the bottom line.
(Fatin Yousef Bundagji is the director of The Women Empowerment & Research Department at The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry.)