Efforts to empower Saudi women by absorbing them in the job market have been successful, according to a top official of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development. Nawal Abdullah Al-Thabian, assistant director general of the ministry’s branch in Makkah province, has said some 600,000 Saudi women have already joined the job market. The women workforce is not only productive but also creative despite the many obstacles and challenges that they experience, Al-Thabian said. Delivering a lecture at a conference titled “Empowerment of Saudi Women in Light of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030” at King Abdulaziz University, she said ministry had initiated 68 schemes to facilitate employment opportunities for women in the Kingdom. Many successful Saudi women participated in brainstorming sessions and panel discussions over two days of the conference, which was inaugurated by Prince Mishal Bin Majed, governor of Jeddah. Al-Thabian said Labor Ministry had been introducing exclusive programs to…

A non-profit organisation has joined forces with Bank of America and the Department of Rural and Community development to introduce a €1.8 million fund to enhance the economic mobility of women. Social Innovation Fund Ireland, along with its two partners, established the fund to support charitable and social enterprise organisations that invest in groups providing training, upskilling, education and other services directly to disadvantaged women. Figures from the Central Statistics Office show female participation in the labour force is 14 per cent lower than men, despite the fact that women make up more than half of third-level graduates in Ireland. ‘We’re going back in time’: Brexit and the customs broker No-deal Brexit will push up popular food prices, Birds Eye chief warns UK clearing houses approved to continue EU business under no deal Brexit “Our aim is to support women who find it hard to access the labour market into…

Uganda’s Ministry of Tourism has added curvy Ugandan women to its list of tourism products to attract foreigners. The State Minister for Tourism, Godfrey Kiwanda, on Tuesday launched a beauty pageant dubbed ‘Miss Curvy Uganda’ to pick women to promote tourism with the finalists to be selected in June. Mr. Kiwanda unveiled the initiative, part of the Tulambule (let’s explore) promotion, at Mestil Hotel in Kampala by waving a flag while women in sleek and tight-fitting clothing walked around the poolside taking pictures with the event organisers including the junior minister. “We have naturally endowed nice looking women that are amazing to look at. Why don’t we use these people as a strategy to promote our tourism industry?” Kiwanda posed, pointing at “a sample” of beautiful women. Tourism is Uganda’s top foreign exchange earner with the country earning $1.4 billion last year, according to government statistics. Most tourists visit national…