Saudi Arabia's transformation: what does it mean for women in the workplace?

Back in 2018, as few as 19.7% of women with Saudi citizenship were in employment or were actively looking to join the working world, according to The Brookings Institution. 

Due to ongoing shifts in policy, more and more women are joining the workforce in the KSA.

What is the female participation in the workforce in Saudi Arabia?

Now with the socio-economic transformation underway, empowered by Vision 2030 which aims to enhance the quality of life and raise citizens’ aspirations, more Saudi women are participating in the workforce.

In the third quarter of 2023, it was reported that 34.2% of the workforce were women, a noticeable increase since the 2018 figures. 

How is this defining the future workplace of KSA?

It was His Royal Highness Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, (MBS), who was eager to encourage more women to seek employment that spurred these policy changes.

Saudi Arabia built its wealth by tapping into its abundant oil reserves. However, as the world prepares for a greener future, MBS has started to explore new avenues to boost the Kingdom’s economy. 

The empowerment of Saudi Arabian women is at the heart of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 reform program, with far-reaching social and economic goals including increasing women’s economic participation. This will of course lead to far more women joining the workforce to support the vision.

Today, seeing men and women working alongside each other has played a huge part in organizations hiring and promoting talent based on qualifications and skills, not gender. 

As a result, more Saudi women are now working in engineering, construction, retail, hospitality, and military sectors and, more importantly, taking on managerial positions.

What does this mean for the future of the AtkinsRéalis in Saudi Arabia?

Increasing the participation of women in the workforce has delivered a knock-on effect and fuelled the country’s transformation. This is providing more opportunities for the younger generation, especially women, encouraging them to play a more significant role in the business world.

AtkinsRéalis has been able to leverage this shifting workforce in a number of ways. Read Deema’s Day in the Life of a Project Manager at AtkinsRéalis story for information on her career journey.

Over the last few years, we have seen an increase in job applications from Saudi women, and Saudi female graduates are increasingly looking to the private sector for employment and long-term career opportunities.

So, what does the transformation mean for AtkinsRéalis’ core markets and what are we doing to ensure we have an inclusive and equitable workplace for Saudi females? Read some quotes from our team below:

“There used to be a separation in workplace between men and women. This has changed over the last 10 years, especially for big companies and organizations. Not only this, but also in terms of deployment, companies are now basing hiring on qualification and skills, not gender.” – Razan Alfnissan, Management Accountant

“The transformation has had an impact on AtkinsRéalis' core markets; the business network has diversified in the workplace and created more opportunities for women. It has ignited female entrepreneurship and innovation within Saudi Arabia, which aligns with our company’s commitment to foster an inclusive culture that promotes gender equality and supports women’s professional development, skills, and knowledge throughout their career.” – Maram Alsaran, HR Advisor

At AtkinsRéalis, we make sure that everyone has an equal voice

We believe in respecting and empowering our people and creating an environment where everyone is encouraged to contribute. 

Ensuring that everyone feels encouraged to share their ideas isn't just the right thing to do, we believe it drives innovation and improvement. This is why we're always actively looking to diversify our talent pools.

Learn more about equality, diversity, and inclusion at AtkinsRéalis and how we’re creating a culture we can be proud of.