JEDDAH, 18 March 2006 — The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) is planning a seminar on Wednesday to explain the Cabinet decision on hiring Saudi women to work in shops selling lingerie and other products for women.
Owners and managers of these shops in Jeddah have been invited to attend the seminar, said Mohammed Al-Shareef, secretary-general of the JCCI.
In June 2005, the Ministry of Labor announced a timetable for employing Saudi women in shops selling women’s clothing, underwear and other such items. It stipulated that all lingerie shops in the Kingdom must employ only Saudi women within the next two years.
According to a specialized consultancy office that conducted a market study, shopping centers around Jeddah contain 247 lingerie shops that are mostly managed by men.
There are about 800 people working in shops that specialize in women’s products; an estimated 166 of them are Saudis with women making only 15 percent.
The study also showed that the average income of employees in lingerie shops is between SR1,500 and SR2,500 a month while the average of income for people working in beauty products shops is between SR2,000 and SR3,000.
Al-Shareef said that the Cabinet’s resolution would help increase the chances of employment for Saudi women.
The seminar is aimed at helping the private sector to implement the resolution by forming a proper link between the JCCI, the Human Resources Development Fund and the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training in order to facilitate and organize the recruitment of Saudi women as sales clerks in these retail outlets.
A new labor law that allows men to work in all areas comes into force next month.
