Publication: Unlocking Opportunities: Empowering Women in Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Saudi Arabia
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Date
2024-08-02
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Published
2024-08-02
Author(s)
Pankratova, Ekaterina
Alrayess, Dana Jasmine
Loots, Sonja
Duell, Nikola
de Moraes, Gael
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Abstract
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 promotes women’s skill development and their advancement in the labor market. Since 2017, Saudi Arabia has seen the fastest progress in reducing barriers to women’s access to labor markets by advancing reforms regarding guardianship, mobility, protection of women in the workplace, entrepreneurship and access to financing, and retirement age. One of its approaches has been to empower women through upskilling, training, and lifelong learning. In recent years, many Saudi women have entered the labor market; however, further interventions are necessary to fully realize the contribution women can make to economic and social advancement. Several studies around the world have shown that women’s participation in vocational education and training has a direct relationship with Labor force participation (LFP). In recent years, Saudi Arabia has reformed its Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system. These reforms have broadened TVET institutions’ educational offerings for women and promoted TVET as a viable pathway to the labor market. Despite this progress, persistent challenges remain. Women’s LFP rates in all age groups remain just slightly above half of those for men, and women who graduate from postsecondary vocational educational institutions still face considerable disadvantages in finding a job, compared to their male peers. Women’s participation in TVET plays an important role in working toward the national strategic goals set out in Vision 2030. This report takes stock of Saudi Arabia’s achievements in enabling women to develop skills, identifies remaining challenges, and presents international best practices on how to address gender barriers in TVET, upskilling, and lifelong learning. The report concludes by identifying key areas of strategic policy interventions that can further gender equity within the country’s skills-development system.
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“Pankratova, Ekaterina; Ajwad, Mohamed Ihsan; Alrayess, Dana Jasmine; Loots, Sonja; Duell, Nikola; de Moraes, Gael. 2024. Unlocking Opportunities: Empowering Women in Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Saudi Arabia. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/41992 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
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