The Ministry of Labor has set up a 60-member Guidance Council to help combat Saudi female unemployment. The council will hold four sessions every year and report directly to Adel Fakieh, Minister of Labor. The council is tasked with drawing up a comprehensive plan to create jobs for women, including looking at remote working locations and sectors which can provide employment for females, local media reports said. The council will have a number of committees that will address the challenges and difficulties facing Saudi women trying to find work. Sources at the ministry said the council recently held its first meeting in Riyadh in the presence of Fakieh and representatives of women's committees from the country's chambers of commerce and industry. Council members discussed various sectors that can create jobs, including the transport sector which they agreed had recently slowed down its recruitment of women. They also looked at issues like sexual harassment in the workplace. The council has already defined sectors currently employing Saudi women, including education, health and commercial areas. Jobs are also being created at lingerie and accessory shops. Meanwhile, Dr. Naser Saleh Al-Aud, an advisor to the Minister of Justice for Social Projects and Family Reconciliation at the Shariah Courts, has announced 300 job openings for female law and Shariah graduates, legal advisors and specialists in social education and administration. He made the announcement at the Riyadh Forum opened recently by Dr. Yousuf Al-Othaimeen, Minister of Social Affairs.
