Saudi Gazette report DAMMAM — Over 113,000 Saudi women are interested in joining the hospitality sector, Fahad Al-Tekhaifi, Deputy Minister of Labor and General Supervisor of Employment of Women in the private sector, has said. According to a General Organization of Insurance (GOSI) report, the official said, the ratio of Saudi women working in the private sector is only two percent and their overall contribution in the private and public sector is 12 percent. This conforms to the official statistics released by the General Statistics Department in 2009, the official was quoted by Al-Eqtisadiah as saying. The ministry, he said, was mainly involved in outlining conditions for new job opportunities but has nothing to do with creating specific jobs for certain sectors. He added that the current rate of the employment of Saudi women in the hotels sector which is part of the hospitality and catering sectors is insignificant. It represents 0.3% of the total Saudi women working in the private sector. Experts in women employment said the total percentage of Saudi women and men in the hotel sector is eight percent. The sector is distinguished by its high turnover and weekly working hours estimated at 66 hours. This perhaps explains why the sector does not attract Saudi jobseekers. Amir Mubarak, a senior official in a reputed Al-Khobar hotel, said the employment of Saudi women in the sector is still limited and the Ministry of Labor needs to allocate and clear more jobs for Saudi women in the field. He said the non-existence of respective fields of specializations in the government and private schools contributed to lack of interest in working in the hospitality industry.
