Saudi Arabia: driving diversity in the workplace

The diversity agenda is receiving strong government and social support in Saudi Arabia. Demand is strong for Saudi females and firms are struggling to source local female talent and have approached Propel Consult for support in finding these workers.

The country’s current talent pool is likely to grow thanks to educational provisions from government and Vision 2030 targets to increase female participation in the workforce from 22% to 30% across all sectors. The most in-demand female professionals are HR, while IT and in particularly e-commerce / finance is an incredibly busy area for hiring. Female candidates are receiving positive feedback from employers in terms of their attitudes and behaviors. 

In our experience with expatriate female candidates, work visas/iqamas are difficult to secure as visa/ immigration processes have not caught up with the diversity agenda driving female employment.

Where we see some success in placing expatriate female candidates would be in the ‘government’ sector. These roles include: Finance Manager, Head of Legal, Architects, Senior Engineers and Project Engineers.

We have placed Saudi female candidates in our client companies in the following disciplines:

·        Urban Design

·        Urban Planning

·        Landscape Design

·        Interior Design

·        Architect

·        Civil Engineer & Project Engineers

·        Project Managers

·        Document Controllers

Support

• HR – all levels
• Executive / Personal Assistants
• Finance – junior and intermediate

In summary, demand is growing and supply is still the critical issue. While there is a growing talent pool  at a junior and intermediate level, there is a significant skills gap for Saudi females with 10+ years’ experience.

Contact Barry Prost, Director - [email protected] with your comments or queries.