The successful deployment of women-only lingerie shops has ushered in a new era that not only provides more privacy but opens up thousands of job opportunities for Saudi women. Business owners have also reported a welcome increase in sales. The Ministry of Labor has now moved on to the next phase of the law whereby all cosmetics and perfume shops will have to employ female staff only. According to Fahd Al-Tekhaifi, Assistant Undersecretary for Development at the Ministry of Labor, the law will come into force on June 30. The open positions in these shops will attract many women of all nationalities in the Kingdom, with a clear preference given to Saudi women. It has been estimated that each cosmetics shop will need from 2 to 5 female employees. “The cosmetics shops have already begun recruiting women because the law was announced a year ago. Businesses have been given ample time to make the necessary arrangements and train saleswomen,” said Al-Tekhaifi to Al-Madinah newspaper. Al-Tekhaifi rejects the notion that this new law will negatively impact the employment rates of young Saudi men. He stated that the retail sector is still abundant in job opportunities for men and women, Saudis and expatriates. One of the first women to ever become a board member of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, Nashwa Taher, said, “The cosmetics shops should be ready by now to open their doors. Many merchants anticipated that cosmetics shops would follow shortly after the feminizing of the lingerie shops.” “Feminizing the cosmetics shops will provide jobs and a steady income for thousands of Saudi women. I reject the idea that the law will drive young Saudi men out of jobs. The cosmetics, make-up, and perfume shops were populated mainly by expatriate employees as the Saudization in this sector was extremely low,” added Taher. __
