Vision 2030- Spiraling Saudi Women towards Self Empowerment

On the 25th of April 2016, Muhammad Bin Salman Al Saud , Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, also serving as First Deputy Prime Minister, President of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs and Minister of Defense announced Vision 2030 which outlines $2 trillion mega fund to spur the country towards transforming, improving and strengthening the economy in several sectors including the tourism sector and create measures and strategies to reduce the country’s reliance on oil. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest economic powerhouse in the Middle East and is the home to the largest oil reserve apart from other natural resources.

Vision 2030 is the changing ground for the youth of Saudi Arabia as the country accelerates its pace towards new economic reforms. As Kingdom enters a new year in 2018, it is all geared to give its continued and enhanced support to its Saudi female labor force. A strong force of change is blowing over the Kingdom as it is on the threshold of economic transformation which is having an impact on all Saudi citizens, specially the women. One of the important initiatives of Vision 2030 aims to integrate women into the workforce by 8%. This article seeks to outline and trace how Vision 2030 will impact the women of Saudi Arabia and how it will empower them in the future years to come.

It is a known fact that women are a great asset to any economy. According to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), The number of Saudi working women in the private sector quadrupled between 2010 to now to nearly 216,000. To improve this, the first phase of the National Transformation Program 2020 is being implemented in partnership with the Council of Economic Affairs and Development and 18 other government entities.  It is concentrating on empowering Saudi job seekers and those with disabilities in those fields which have less opportunities with emphasis on women by establishing its work from home program and other initiatives and according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Development this will by year 2020 increase the Saudi women participation in the labor force by 28% and create around 141,000 jobs. It aims to create jobs outside the three main cities of the Kingdom and will ensure flexible working hours which will curb the time spent for commutation to the work place. The new initiatives included the Programs to boost Saudization, Freelance Program, Part-time Job Program, working women’s ‘Children Hospitality Program’ called ‘Qurrat’, and Program for transportation of working women called “Wusool. These are dedicated to ensure that women and youth have the skills and opportunities they need to participate in the kingdom’s economic expansion.

Corporates like Tata Consultancy Services, Saudi Aramco and GE have collaborated in ensuring this participation too by supporting and hiring more Saudi women to their workforce ensuring equality and diversity.

Women in Saudi Arabia are pioneers in many areas like charity and philanthropic work, and continue to surprise the world for instance Raha Moharrak, 31, who made history in 2013 as the first Saudi woman to climb Mount Everest. Women can now sit on the Government Advisory Shoura Council, vote in municipal elections, and work in some retail and hospitality sectors too. New avenues like licenses to women for opening gyms by February quoted by Princess Reema bint Bandar, Vice President for Women’s Affairs at the General Authority of Sports, in a local daily also proves that the country is optimistic to promote the empowerment of women in all spheres.

Today we see the transition of a Saudi woman from not only being an efficient homemaker, she has reached top positions in the corporate sector, she is an entrepreneur and manages businesses, she is scaling mountains, she is a film maker, and according to CNBC sources thousands of women have signed up to be drivers for Careem a middle Eastern ride hailing app and have signed up for the training phase.

As business faculty in a prestigious university in Riyadh, I come across female students who dream and aspire for great careers. Some already are successful entrepreneurs, business women and hold high positions in the corporate world. They are empowered with the knowledge and skills and like young women all over the globe are creating a mark in their chosen careers and surging forward to conquer the world. With the Royal Decree permitting them to drive in June 2018, is just one of the many initiatives which will propel the determined women in the Kingdom to become confident and self-reliant. There are many major challenges ahead for Saudi women, who should prove to the world that they can overcome challenges and become role models for other women all over the globe. They can play a pivotal role in expediting the success of Vision 2030.