Saudi Arabia: Women participation in civil sectors increases 25 times over a decade

Saudi Arabia is making a massive leap towards women empowerment in sectors such as civil services and certain areas of the military. The Saudi Family Affairs Council, in a recent report, stated that the number of women personnel in the Saudi civil service has increased by 25 times in the last ten years.

Titled "The role of Saudi women in society and in various business and government sectors," the report shows that the number of women workers in the security and military sectors rose to 9,408 by the end of 2019 and 500 military posts for women were in progress. The surge of female participation in the civil service stood at 4,84,000 in 2019 from 21,000 in 2010.

Female employees in the military and security sectors account for 2 per cent of the total female workforce in the government sector, which includes the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of the National Guard, Presidency of General Intelligence, Presidency of State Security, Control and Investigation Authority, Public Prosecution, and the General Directorate of Investigation. Around 31 per cent of the women workforce are currently employed in various private and public sectors in Saudi Arabia.

As part of The Kingdom's Vision 2030, the country has implemented several reforms to create an environment for women upliftment as women constitute more than half of the Saudi population. Earlier this month, the Saudi Interior Ministry had called for women recruits in various Defence Force departments.

The Saudi Justice Minister Walid Al Samani had led the appointment of over 100 women notary officials in the judiciary department last year. The undersecretary for women's empowerment, Saudi Civil Service ministry Hind Al-Zahid stated that the Kingdom has surpassed the target of initiating 25 per cent women in the Kingdom's labour market by 2025.

Quite a few women officials of the Ministry of Defence have already earned several achievement awards for their outstanding contributions.