Lack of public transportation and ban on female drivers stymie efforts to boost employment of Saudi women
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) — Saudi Arabia’s Labour Ministry may soon oblige employers of Saudi women to provide them with transport options in an effort to increase female participation in the kingdom’s workforce, according to Arab News.
Firms could achieve this by providing rides on company-owned vehicles, contracting with taxi companies or providing transport allowances in women’s salaries.
In a country where women are forbidden to drive and there is little public transportation, women are faced with the expensive prospect of hiring a private driver, paying for a high-priced taxi or the sometimes unreliable option of prevailing upon a male family member to ferry them to and from work.
With many women unable to afford private transport or discouraged with the bite it takes out of their salaries, provision of transportation by employers is seen as a way of whittling down a female unemployment rate of 34 percent.
A study conducted by an affiliate of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry found that 46 percent of Saudi women face daily problems with transport in the kingdom, which contribute to lower productivity and higher absenteeism, according to the Saudi Gazette.
That study also reported that 48 percent of Saudi female workers have chauffeurs, 26 percent depend on male family members for transport, 12 percent take taxis and 9 percent arrange to pay private car owners for rides to and from work. Only 4 percent of women use company-provided minibuses when available.
Since many Saudi businesses are closed for several hours in the afternoon, the awkward timing of shifts in retail stores, which often run from 10 am to 1 pm and from 4 pm to 11 pm, further complicate the transportation problems faced by women, according to ArabianBusiness.com.
“Employees working two shifts have to pay for four journeys a day to and from work. This needs to change,” Rana Al-Zahrani, a marketer at a private company, told Arab News.
(Editing by Alisa Tang: alisa.tang@thomsonreuters.com)
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