Saudi women lack skills to join workforce is ‘biggest myth’: LinkedIn

Nearly 52 percent of Saudi women have ruled out the lack of skill sets to join the country's workforce as the "biggest myth" hindering their success and employment, LinkedIn said in a new report.

More than 60 percent of Saudi women and recruiters agree there is great progress and efforts in the Kingdom towards achieving Saudi Vision 2030 plan that aims to increase women’s participation in the workforce from 22 percent to 30 percent.

The report is part of LinkedIn’s ‘Hear It From Me’ (Esmaaha Menni) campaign that encourages women to showcase their skills and build their professional brand on the social media platform.

According to the report, one in two, or 52 percent, recruiters believe that gender equality leads to higher productivity while 40 percent said the key benefit of hiring men and women equally is that it advances a creative culture, indicating a willingness to provide more opportunities for women.

Meanwhile, 37 percent of Saudi women believe employers still need to do more to hire them in key roles and more than a third (38 percent) find that the hardest thing about getting a job in Saudi Arabia is finding the right opportunity to match their expectations.

LinkedIn said more than 63 percent of Saudi women members have indicated completing Bachelor’s Degrees, exceeding other developed countries, such as the United States which comes at 57 percent.

On the other hand, over 17 percent have completed a Master’s Degree.

The top three fields of study for women are business management & administration, followed by computer science and health science, the report added.