Eighty-two percent of women prefer to work from home or remotely, according to a study conducted recently by the Khadijah bint Khuwaylid Center for Businesswomen at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Basma Omair, executive director of the center, was quoted as saying recently that 77 percent of men surveyed want women to work at home or remotely.

Omair said that allowing women to work from home or away from the office would see further economic development in the country.

Women aged 25 to 44 prefer to work from home but said that the country has to develop proper infrastructure for this to happen effectively. They said that companies must start looking at ways to employ more Saudi women, in line with the directives of the Council of Ministers.

Maha Fathi, head of the center’s forum, said that women can work effectively from home or remotely if they have support from their companies and dependable electronic communication systems.

Fathi said that working remotely, as opposed to being employed at home, involves women representing their companies out in the field in various industries including designing, translation, advertising and consulting.

She said the Ministry of Labor does not have statistics on the number of women working remotely. However, the ministry has committed itself to developing proper infrastructure and regulations.

Muna Abu Suleiman, who works in the media, said some companies have not introduced this form of work because they are afraid the productivity of women might drop. She said that women could work effectively from home by providing accountancy and various other customer services.

Bassam Fatini, a media consultant at Herafia Society for Handicrafts, said the delay is understandable because the Labor Ministry has to develop regulations around this form of work.

The government also wants to prevent a situation where there is fake employment of women at home, similar to the recent situation where women were registered with the social insurance system without their knowledge.

 
[wpResize]