Unlocking Opportunities

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 promotes women’s skill development and their advancement in the labor market. Since 2017, Saudi Arabia has seen the fastest progress in reducing barriers to women’s access to labor markets by advancing reforms regarding guardianship, mobility, protection of women in the workplace, entrepreneurship and access to financing, and retirement age. One of its approaches has been to empower women through upskilling, training, and lifelong learning. In recent years, many Saudi women have entered the labor market; however, further interventions are necessary to fully realize the contribution women can make to economic and social advancement. Several studies around the world have shown that women’s participation in vocational education and training has a direct relationship with Labor force participation (LFP). In recent years, Saudi Arabia has reformed its Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system. These reforms have broadened TVET institutions’ educational offerings for women and promoted TVET as a viable pathway to the labor market. Despite this progress, persistent challenges remain. Women’s LFP rates in all age groups remain just slightly above half of those for men, and women who graduate from postsecondary vocational educational institutions still face considerable disadvantages in finding a job, compared to their male peers. Women’s participation in TVET plays an important role in working toward the national strategic goals set out in Vision 2030. This report takes stock of Saudi Arabia’s achievements in enabling women to develop skills, identifies remaining challenges, and presents international best practices on how to address gender barriers in TVET, upskilling, and lifelong learning. The report concludes by identifying key areas of strategic policy interventions that can further gender equity within the country’s skills-development system.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Pankratova, Ekaterina, Ajwad, Mohamed Ihsan, Alrayess, Dana Jasmine, Loots, Sonja, Duell, Nikola, de Moraes, Gael
Format:	Report biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Washington, DC: World Bank 2024-08-02
Subjects:	WOMEN, EMPOWERMENT, LABOR MARKET, GENDER EQUITY, TVET,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099073124173525340/P179647176b4670811b2aa1b050afcc82cf https://hdl.handle.net/10986/41992
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!