Call for flexible hours for working Saudi women

RIYADH: The private sector should offer working women flexible working hours and a conducive working environment, the 8th Riyadh Economic Forum was told on Wednesday.
Flexible hours should be arranged to empower women and give them a place for employment in private and public sectors, the forum heard.
The three-day forum sponsored by the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) was inaugurated by Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar on Monday. RCCI Chairman Ahmed B. Al-Rajhi, on behalf of the board of directors and the business sectors, expressed his appreciation to King Salman for extending his patronage for the forum.
Al-Rajhi also thanked the Riyadh governor, honorary president of the forum, for his support for and interest in the forum’s activities. More than 300 delegates from the public and private sectors attended the event.
Reading out the final recommendations of the forum, the vice president of the Board of Trustees of the Forum, Ali Al-Othaim, particularly emphasized the provision of flexible working hours for women, which should empower women and give them the chance of work in both sectors.
Recommendations also included formulating a special legal framework governing and regulating the partnership process between public, private, local and foreign investment, developing a national corporate governance program to revise existing regulations and establishing complexes for integration between intermediate mainstream and manufacturing industries.
The house also recommended the establishment of specialized technical institutes in the field of mining to graduate qualified personnel to fill the shortage in the fields of exploration, extraction, and metal processing.
It was also urged to establish “mineral cities” (where there is an abundance of minerals) to achieve integration between the intermediate metallurgical and manufacturing industries.
It was felt that there was a pressing need to improve the efficiency of local human resources at professional and academic levels to cater to the local labor market.
It was urged to enhance the volume of credit facilities to the private sector by establishing financing funds that will contribute to supporting investments in the manufacturing and ICT sectors, and encourage them to attract talents and skilled labor and develop the capabilities of the current workforce.
Finally, it was said the work culture should be instilled in the minds of young people at school and that they should be made to work in part-time jobs during their school holidays.