About one-third of the Saudi female workforce fail to keep up jobs because of transport difficulties, according to a recent study conducted by a higher education research journal.

The same study, conducted by Efad, also found that 8 percent of Saudi females do not work due to family objections. The study, conducted on 3,865 women from across 13 governorates, indicated low rates of education among females from poorer backgrounds. Around 42 percent of women in the study were found illiterate, a high percentage compared with the age average. About 75 respondents said they lack a real provider for the family, while half of these women are either widows or divorced and around half of married women were found to live with unemployed men.

The study targeted women between the 20 to 50 age range. More than 25 percent of women surveyed barely completed basic education. According to the study, 32 percent of Saudi women do not continue their higher education after school due to family constraints. Around 22 percent of families do not view education as an essential component for women, indicating that strong cultural and social norms play a role in their day-to-day lives.

Only 10.5 percent of respondents said they have a job, an extremely low percentage considering the large age group. Such low percentage can also be attributed to the lack of job opportunities available for women, it said.