The government of Saudi Arabia has urged the kingdom's private sector to play a bigger role in creating jobs for the rising number of women graduates. UNESCO and Saudi government figures show that women make up 58% of the total student population at universities. Higher Education Minister Dr Khaled Al-Anqari said this was a record for women's education in the region. But such an impressive achievement in tertiary education participation is not matched in the workplace: only 16% of Saudi women work, mostly in education, where the system of classroom segregation provides opportunities generally lacking in the private sector.

During a recent visit to the kingdom, the UN's rapporteur on violence against women, Yakin Ert_rk, urged the government to establish the necessary infrastructure for women's participation in all government institutions and private businesses, and in decision-making processes.

For his part Saudi Labour Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi argued against rapid change, saying the issue of segregation would not change overnight. "In fact if we try to change things forcefully, then that may complicate matters," Al-Gosaibi said.

While change may be slow, Tony Calderbank, the British Council's deputy director in Riyadh, said the government was actively seeking to reform the education system. As Calderbank noted: "There is enormous political will here, coming from the king himself, to ensure that education fits in with the competitive global market place, so the issue is being confronted head on."

While Saudi Arabia has yet to find a way of accommodating the rising number of female graduates in the workplace, it is pressing ahead with the expansion of higher education for both sexes and just under half of the kingdom's total annual budget for 2008 has been allocated to education and manpower development. Projects include a women's university in Riyadh and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, a co-educational venture where women and men will share the same classrooms.

One sign that the issue of female graduate employment is being addressed seriously is the drafting of sexual discrimination legislation by the kingdom's advisory Shoura Council.

Maha Al-Hujailan, a medical researcher at King Khaled University Hospital in Riyadh, is one of only a few women to have discussed the issue publicly. Her research revealed that women graduates were confronted by sexual harassment within the workplace and when applying for jobs. Al-Hujailan said the absence of legislation opened the door for violators and made Saudi woman "an easy prey".


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