THE number of working women has dramatically increased in Saudi Arabia during the last four years, a new report has revealed.

According to a report released by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development in March, the country's private sector registered a 130 percent increase in the number of working Saudi women during the last four years. Thirty percent of the total Saudi workforce in the private sector is now represented by women, a Gulf News report said.

According to the report, Riyadh has the highest employment opportunities followed by Makkah.

The government has expressed its willingness to increase the percentage of women in the Saudi total workforce to 28 percent by 2020. The government also reported more than 11 million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia’s private sector.

Additionally, efforts to boost employment among women and graduates are still ongoing. Several projects have been initiated to tackle the challenge of transportation that women face while commuting to work. There are projects that offer women the option to work from home, which is likely to generate over 140,000 jobs by 2020.

Expat population: 13,340,921

According to the Interior Ministry’s National Information Center, 11,119,370 expatriates are employed in the private sector. They are accompanied by 2,221,551 relatives, bringing their total number to 13,340,921.

The overwhelming majority of the expatriates (10,976,854) are aged between 20 and 64. They have 1,689,874 relatives with them, the figures published this week in Okaz Arabic daily show. Together, they total 12,666,728.

Slightly less than 10,000 foreign workers (9,646) are less than 20 years old while 132,870 are above 64 years.

Total population: 31,742,308

Latest figures posted by the General Authority for Statistics show that the total population of the Kingdom is 31,742,308.

Saudi Arabia has launched several programs to empower women economically and help them secure jobs despite stiff resistance from conservatives who have been openly against allowing women to work, especially in places where genders can mix, including supermarkets.

Women can work from home

Under the National Transformation Program 2020, the ministry has launched several projects, including allowing women to work from home, amid expectations that it would generate 141,000 jobs.

The project is proving popular among women, mainly for those living outside major cities in the Kingdom, as it provides them with flexible timings and enables them to avoid the challenges of commuting to the workplace.

Transportation difficulties are often cited along family responsibilities among the major social obstacles hindering women from taking up jobs. — Al Arabiya English