Survey suggests that women driving is set to transform Saudi job market

Riyadh: Research has suggested that as a result of women in Saudi Arabia taking up driving, the employment landscape will undergo significant change.
A survey, carried out by online recruitment firm GulfTalent, found that as many as 82 per cent of Saudi women intend to begin driving this year.
It is expected that this will see more women move into senior roles that have traditionally been dominated by men, as well as many women upgrading to higher paying jobs further away from their homes, and many currently unemployed women being afforded the opportunity to work.

Women’s Empowerment and Growth
One of the major goals of Saudi Vision 2030 is the empowerment of women, of which career advancement is a crucial factor. The vision aims to raise women’s participation in the workforce from 22 per cent to 30 per cent. Women being able to drive significantly enhances their chances of career progression by giving them the mobility required for managerial positions and removing logistical barriers that have traditionally inhibited their promotion to senior roles.
Hala, a Regional HR Manager at a construction company in Dammam told GulfTalent “Senior positions often involve working with employees in multiple offices across the region either within or outside the country, which was more difficult in the past without being able to drive. Now that women will be able to drive, more female candidates will likely be considered for senior roles that entail traveling to other offices.”
This was consistent with the experience of other Saudi women surveyed. Mai, a project engineer based in Jeddah said “Being able to drive will make me eligible for the position of project manager – as the role needs constantly moving between the office and project sites to supervise work.”

Improved job-skill matching
The GulfTalent survey predicts that driving will lead to a wave of employed women moving into to better-matching and more lucrative jobs in other companies. Many of the survey respondents admitted that due to transportation constraints they were previously forced to settle for jobs with lower pay than their qualifications merited or for jobs that were unrelated to their field of qualification.

New jobs for women
In particular, a key segment of women who will benefit from driving will be those in small villages, many of whom are teachers required to commute to jobs in larger cities. With long-distance public transport both costly and limited, many such women have historically been unable to work at all. “The ability to drive will allow women to commute to work in the cities from more remote locations in the same way that their male counterparts have been doing for years.” said Turki Almadhi, founder and president of TAVI, an investment firm with offices in Riyadh.

By 2020, it is estimated that 3 million women will be driving in Saudi Arabia, according to research by audit firm PwC. As a result, the Kingdom’s automotive sector is expected to see a significant boost in demand, leading to the creation of many new jobs within the sector, including a large number of female employees to cater to female car owners. Transport services such as Careem and Uber have already announced plans to hire thousands of female drivers.