TAIF — The Saudi families have recruited as many as 181 foreign private women drivers since the Saudi women were allowed to get behind the wheels and drive from June 24, 2018, local daily Al-Madina reported on Tuesday quoting figures released by the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat). The number of the private drivers in the Kingdom has reached 1.3 million representing 53 percent of the 2.4 million house helps consisting of house managers, drivers, housemaids, cooks, nurses, private teachers, cleaners and servants. GaStat said a number of expatriate workers have changed their job titles to house helps and private drivers so as to benefit from the free services provided to this category of people. The authority said the number of house helps has increased due to the expansion of economic activities and the establishment of new families through marriages. The monthly salary of a house help ranges between SR800 and SR1,200 and they are recruited from 17 countries. The authority said more than 120,000 Saudi women have so far obtained driving licenses since they were allowed to drive. According to the latest report by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, the number of non-Saudi household drivers dropped from 1.4 million to 1.3 million by the end of 2018. According to the report, lifting the female ban on driving will increase the number of women seeking jobs, and boost the size of the workforce. The country's Vision 2030 program, which is a plan to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy, aims to increase women's participation in the workforce from 22 percent to 30 percent.
