Saudi women’s successes in the workforce represent “evidence of a slow but seismic shift” in Saudi society with entrepreneurs and career professionals finding ways toward career success in the Kingdom, according to a feature story by Alexandra Zarvis in the Los Angeles Times.
Saudi women are making gains in the workforce, but have a long way to go to achieve full equality.
“No matter how successful we are, no matter how much we achieve, the world still chooses to see us as oppressed,” said Sofana Dahlan, a lawyer. “And in reality, a lot of us are not. We have limitations, but the whole world has limitations to different degrees.”
But despite efforts by existing companies, like putting in partitions to create separate work spaces for women, transportation stipends for female employees, and experiments with virtual offices allowing women to work from home, progress has been slow, writes Zarvis.
“Although women make up more than half the kingdom’s university graduates, they account for just 13% of the positions held by Saudis in the government and private sectors.”
[Click here to read the full feature report in the Los Angeles Times]
