JEDDAH, 10 February 2005 — Mona Luay Al-Omair, a university graduate, broke new ground in December regarding the employment of women outside the traditional fields of education and medicine. She is the first female employee at Tetra Pak’s Jeddah-based manufacturing facility and the first in the industrial area.
Under close government supervision and following the company’s recently formulated policy for employing women, Mona began as a trainee in the marketing department and now that she is within a few days of the end of her training period, she recounted her reactions.
“It has been a totally new experience for me,” she said. “It is my first job; it is challenging and interesting and overall it has been a very positive experience.”
There were difficulties, she said, especially with the wealth of new marketing terminology and spoken language. “Because this is a multinational company, I sometimes have trouble understanding the accents of the different nationalities, but that is part of the experience.”
The discipline of punctuality is a challenge as well since she lives some distance from the plant but she has accepted this as part of the employment package.
Having graduated from King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah with a BA in English Literature, Mona was keen to set out upon a clear and meaningful path with strong development prospects.
“It has been a great challenge for me to have my first experience at work as the first female employee in a company,” she said. “But I felt I was ready for it and looked forward to learning the job and playing my part in the industry.”
Mona chose Tetra Pak because she felt it offered a good combination of career prospects and, being a global company, it offered wide opportunities.
“As the first Saudi female to join, I was nervous,” she said. “But everyone here has been very kind and respectful and did their best to make me feel comfortable.”
Saudi Arabian requirements, both traditional and cultural, mean that options for women’s involvement in business and commercial life are limited. Despite the Kingdom’s apparently industrialized character and its increasing modernization in commercial and business sectors, some traditions are still strongly held to but this is changing quickly.
Mona has her own office suite where she works and all the official and cultural requirements which allow Mona to operate in the office are fulfilled. Although she sometimes feels a little isolated, the demands and rewards of her work more than compensate.
Mona was not sure what to expect in the industrial environment. “I would advise any young woman to finish her education or degree and think about joining a substantial company like this.”
“More women are entering industry than ever before,” confirmed Amar Zahid, managing director of Tetra Pak Saudi Arabia. “It is not always easy to be the industry pioneer but we have to utilize the great talent potential Saudi Arabia has to offer. Forty percent of our employees are Saudi nationals.”
