Saudi Arabia has achieved its target of getting 30 percent female labor force participation nearly 10 years ahead of schedule, a study said.
The research, carried out by Roland Berger on behalf of Uber, shows that women made up 36 percent of workers in the Kingdom in 2021 — up from 22 percent just three years earlier, according to local media reports.
The increase was partly attributed to the success of the Wusool program, an initiative launched in 2017 by Uber and Saudi Arabia’s Human Resources Development Fund, which aimed at making transport more accessible to working women in the kingdom, the reports said.
According to the study, 80 percent of respondents who were previously reliant on public transport, agreed that Wusool enabled them to access more and better employment opportunities.
About 21 percent noted that the Wusool program increased their job security, while 49 percent of the working women revealed that the Wusool program helped them to save money, and now they are financially independent.
The number of women benefiting from Wusool increased from 300 to around 13,000 in only the first year of operation, the reports said.
“We are very pleased to announce the tangible impact that Wusool is making in empowering women in Saudi Arabia,” said Mohammad Gazzaz, general manager of Uber Saudi Arabia.
Turki Al-Jawani, director general of the HDRF, said: “Wusool has been successful in addressing the issue of transportation, which is a key challenge to employment continuity, particularly for entry-level women workers.”
By late 2021, more than 120,000 women took more than 20 million trips to/from their workplace, mainly using the Uber app, the reports said.
Funded by HRDF, the program is being operated by Takamol Holdings.