Vision 2030: Empowering women in Saudi Arabia's real estate industry

• Increasing the labour force among females to 50% by 2030: Saudi real estate developer, ROSHN, recently launched its initiative Awda to support the Kingdom’s objective of increasing the female labour force to 50% by 2030. The first initiative of its kind, Awda looks to support women returning to the workforce, offering them resources and assistance where needed. Over the last few years, the Kingdom has ramped up initiatives to empower and encourage women to join the workforce with the goal of increasing the employment rate. Today, women make up 30% of the female workforce in Saudi Arabia. 

• Increase in female homeownership in Saudi Arabia: Over the last few years, Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate Development Fund (REDF) has boosted homeownership among women in the Kingdom through mortgage loans. Today around 73, 000 Saudi women in the country are first time homeowners. Through real estate financing, REFD looks to empower women and increase homeownership by 2030.

• Women owned businesses in Saudi Arabia: In 2020, the first female real estate investment office opened in Riyadh by Saudi’s Amjad Bint Ibrahim Al-Hajji under her name. The business woman was inspired to get into real estate by her late father, and with changes to Saudi Arabia’s law, Amjad found it possible to start her own company and pave the way for other women. Last year the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises said that the percentage of start-ups owned by women in the country reached 45%, double the percentage of 2017.  

• Encouraging students to enter the real estate sector: Over the last few years, property consultants have been involved in Saudi Arabia’s higher education institutions and earlier this year, one of the largest global property consultancies, Knight Frank, partnered with Effat University in Jeddah to encourage students to explore opportunities in the real estate sector. While in 2017, JLL partnered with Effat to highlight careers in real estate for female students. I

• Drive to encourage women to join the hospitality and retail sector in Saudi Arabia: With a rapidly growing hospitality and retail sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the country has put measures in place to encourage women to enter the sectors. In Jeddah in 2019, the King Abdul Aziz University launched a special degree for women in tourism and hospitality, while Marriot International partnered with Cornell University to launch its Tahseen program and develop leadership and local talent in the hospitality sector.

YOU'RE INVITED TO JOIN A GROUP OF PASSIONATE AND DRIVEN WOMEN IN THE MENA REGION

From networking events to professional development workshops, and mentorship programs to a year-long community, be sure to connect, learning, and growing with CityscapeWIRE.