RIYADH, 10 July 2006 — The Saudization process has taken a sour turn at a Riyadh sweet factory, which is struggling to hire workers because many Saudi men consider making confectionery a far too sissy of a job, according to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
Ali Muhammad Saaduddin, the owner and manager of Saaduddin Sweets, said that his business was suffering because under Labor Ministry regulations issued last year, he is not allowed to employ non-Saudis. The confectioner added that most Saudi men do not want to make sweets and consider the job to be feminine.
Saaduddin says he has now been left with no alternative but to hire Saudi women and has turned to the Women’s Development Committee in Riyadh seeking to recruit around 80 women. He said the factory has now established an isolated ladies-only area for women to work in.
“In order to meet the percentage specified by the Saudiazation decision, we have faced a lot of difficulties. We’ve hired many Saudis but they really cannot do the job. Some of them have walked out and others simply don’t know how to make sweets,” said Saaduddin.
Reporters from Asharq Al-Awsat met women workers at the factory who said they loved making sweets, a job which is “most suitable for Saudi women”.
Saleha Al-Jizani, a factory worker, said Saudi women are now able to get more and more involved in building society. “This is an opportunity for Saudi women to prove that they can also be useful and productive members of society,” she said.
