The sector, being the major source of income in the Kingdom, is still dominated by men, with women occupying only a few positions mainly in administration and corporate social responsibility departments, industry sources told Arab News.

The Ministry of Petroleum previously announced in 2009 that the Kingdom produces 62 percent of the Gulf region’s petroleum and eight percent of the world’s total output.

The sector accounts for number of investment and job opportunities, claim the organizers of a forum on March 8-9, 2011 in Yanbu addressing downstream industries in the Kingdom. The forum has no woman speaker. Only one company specializing in steel recycling has made Arab News annual top 10 list of businesses owned by women in the last four years.

The rest of the businesses usually include those in the fashion, education, interior design, public relations and trading sectors.

Saudi businesswoman Nashwa Tahir said that women are saving up money that they cannot use because of the difficulty involved in starting up businesses. “Women are already facing obstacles when it comes to starting up small businesses, let alone making huge investments in industries. Women are afraid to join these sectors, leading to a lack of Saudi women in these industries.”

Tahir added that there are a few women making inroads in this sector, especially in giant companies that have good relations with government bodies and an advantage over small companies.

“If we are thinking about expanding the scale of economic investment and exploring new fields, then there is a need to reconsider the rules and regulations and the manpower and budgets allocated for different government departments.”

Tahir said government departments need to liaise with each other to make it easier for business seekers of both genders to invest and create more opportunities in the market.

Tahir claimed it was enforced “social traditions” restricting women from being able to invest more freely.

She questioned what would happen to girls studying abroad on scholarship programs and due to graduate soon. “Will we be able to provide jobs for them in their fields?”