24 July 2012
The Ministry of Labor has stated it is a violation of the Kingdom's labor regulations to insist a woman should be unmarried to be eligible for employment.
Ministry spokesman Hatab Al-Anazi said: "Some private companies are stipulating conditions such as a woman shall be recruited only if she is single or not pregnant if married.
"It is against the regulations approved by the ministry."
Al-Anazi added the demand a woman worker should remain single is also against the Islamic law adopted by the Kingdom. "The fourth clause of the ministry's employment regulations stipulates both the employer and his worker should adhere to Shariah rules."
Recently many private companies have started demanding women who seek jobs should be single. There have also been reports of women workers being sacked because they were pregnant.
A recent job advertisement seeking women security officials said applicants should be unmarried, Al-Eqtisadiah daily reported yesterday. The newspaper also displayed a copy of the advert.
Businesswoman Aliyah Banaja said: "While the Ministry of Labor is trying its best to help women find employment and participate in social development, some companies are attempting to make women's employment complicated. The difficult demands include a consent letter from her male guardian that women applicants will remain single and if they are married, not to get pregnant."
She added the tendency to make such illegal demands is on the increase these days because women do not complain against employers who demand conditions that have nothing to do their competency.
The government has recently strictly enforced an order to employ only Saudi women in lingerie shops.
Perfumes and women's accessories shops also come under this order. This decision has helped a large number of women to find employment. The rate of women's unemployment is very high in the Kingdom.
Banaja also urged the ministry to monitor employment conditions for women stipulated by private companies and also to ensure employers are doing everything possible to provide job opportunities for female workers.
Mother of two Aisha Al-Johani said when she approached a company looking for a security job in the women's souk near her home, she found a notice in front of the building mentioning the applicant should be unmarried. She did not apply for the job.
Mysoon Al-Muhammad, a newly married woman, said her job contract specifically warned that she would be sacked if she became pregnant.
She added: "So when I became pregnant I informed the administration. Instantly I was sacked. I know the condition was unreasonable. But I don't have the strength to fight for my legal rights. Even if I win a lawsuit I will be put under pressure to resign from the job."
She said she decided to sit at home until she has given birth and the baby grows up.
According to a survey carried out by Gallup, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Ecuador, Bolivia, Rwanda, and Botswana have been classified as the countries to least employ women, with an employment gap of over 22 percent between male and female employees.
The survey that questioned nearly 200,000 people worldwide said Kuwait has been picked as the first country in the world in terms of employing women. The rate of women employment stands at 88 percent compared with 89 percent for men. Kuwait was listed among a group of countries where women occupy high rates of employment, including Singapore, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, and Malta.
In Bahrain, 61 percent of the country's women are employed as opposed to 80 percent of men, resulting in an inequality ratio of 19, the report said.
Globally, the Gallup survey showed that an average of 43 percent of women were employed compared to 49 percent of men.
Based on government data, the number of Saudi women employed in private sector firms reaches 100,000 employees occupying some 2,611 jobs within 100 major professions contained in a jobs classification manual.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Labor has embarked on a series of initiatives aimed at the encouraging Saudi women to join the labor market, such as "work from home" and "remotely based work." The initiatives aim to create more job opportunities that conform to Saudi society and remove obstacles that impede their employment by the introduction of a variety of regulations legalizing such businesses.
In the past 10 months, the Ministry of Labor reportedly created 50,000 jobs for women, 19 times more jobs than in the past several years.
The Ministry of Labor has stated it is a violation of the Kingdom's labor regulations to insist a woman should be unmarried to be eligible for employment.
Ministry spokesman Hatab Al-Anazi said: "Some private companies are stipulating conditions such as a woman shall be recruited only if she is single or not pregnant if married.
"It is against the regulations approved by the ministry."
Al-Anazi added the demand a woman worker should remain single is also against the Islamic law adopted by the Kingdom. "The fourth clause of the ministry's employment regulations stipulates both the employer and his worker should adhere to Shariah rules."
Recently many private companies have started demanding women who seek jobs should be single. There have also been reports of women workers being sacked because they were pregnant.
A recent job advertisement seeking women security officials said applicants should be unmarried, Al-Eqtisadiah daily reported yesterday. The newspaper also displayed a copy of the advert.
Businesswoman Aliyah Banaja said: "While the Ministry of Labor is trying its best to help women find employment and participate in social development, some companies are attempting to make women's employment complicated. The difficult demands include a consent letter from her male guardian that women applicants will remain single and if they are married, not to get pregnant."
She added the tendency to make such illegal demands is on the increase these days because women do not complain against employers who demand conditions that have nothing to do their competency.
The government has recently strictly enforced an order to employ only Saudi women in lingerie shops.
Perfumes and women's accessories shops also come under this order. This decision has helped a large number of women to find employment. The rate of women's unemployment is very high in the Kingdom.
Banaja also urged the ministry to monitor employment conditions for women stipulated by private companies and also to ensure employers are doing everything possible to provide job opportunities for female workers.
Mother of two Aisha Al-Johani said when she approached a company looking for a security job in the women's souk near her home, she found a notice in front of the building mentioning the applicant should be unmarried. She did not apply for the job.
Mysoon Al-Muhammad, a newly married woman, said her job contract specifically warned that she would be sacked if she became pregnant.
She added: "So when I became pregnant I informed the administration. Instantly I was sacked. I know the condition was unreasonable. But I don't have the strength to fight for my legal rights. Even if I win a lawsuit I will be put under pressure to resign from the job."
She said she decided to sit at home until she has given birth and the baby grows up.
According to a survey carried out by Gallup, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Ecuador, Bolivia, Rwanda, and Botswana have been classified as the countries to least employ women, with an employment gap of over 22 percent between male and female employees.
The survey that questioned nearly 200,000 people worldwide said Kuwait has been picked as the first country in the world in terms of employing women. The rate of women employment stands at 88 percent compared with 89 percent for men. Kuwait was listed among a group of countries where women occupy high rates of employment, including Singapore, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, and Malta.
In Bahrain, 61 percent of the country's women are employed as opposed to 80 percent of men, resulting in an inequality ratio of 19, the report said.
Globally, the Gallup survey showed that an average of 43 percent of women were employed compared to 49 percent of men.
Based on government data, the number of Saudi women employed in private sector firms reaches 100,000 employees occupying some 2,611 jobs within 100 major professions contained in a jobs classification manual.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Labor has embarked on a series of initiatives aimed at the encouraging Saudi women to join the labor market, such as "work from home" and "remotely based work." The initiatives aim to create more job opportunities that conform to Saudi society and remove obstacles that impede their employment by the introduction of a variety of regulations legalizing such businesses.
In the past 10 months, the Ministry of Labor reportedly created 50,000 jobs for women, 19 times more jobs than in the past several years.
© Arab News 2012
