By Fatima Al-Dubais

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

DAMMAM — Shoura Council members demanded a supervisory committee to ensure pay parity for both genders in the private sector.

Shoura members Latifah Al-Shalaan and Moudi Al-Khalaf raised the issue of the gender pay gap in some private sector companies.

Saudi women occupy the 107th place in gender pay gap worldwide. They are receiving 56% less salary than their male counterparts.

Disparity in pay is against labor laws as set by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development.

Discrimination against women is against the Kingdom’s legal regulations and against the Equal Pay Act issued by the International Labor Organization, of which the Kingdom is a member.

The proposal by Shoura members included statistics showing that Saudi women get the least wages as compared to women in other Gulf countries.

A total 21% of Saudi women have registered as family breadwinners in the Citizen’s Account Program. The reality, however, is that only 5% of the families registered in the program have women as breadwinners.

The rate of the gender poverty gap is also growing. There are 120 to 160 poor women to every 100 poor men in the Kingdom.

The rate of Saudi women’s unemployment is also the highest in the world.

The Kingdom has been working on supporting the employment of women and encouraging their participation in social development.

The status of women’s rights in the Kingdom has been improving over the past months and the Shoura Council supports further endeavors for gender equality.