Image belongs to Iman Al-Dabbagh (@photosbyiman on Instagram)
A key part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has always been an unwavering focus on increasing the voice, agency, and meaningful participation of the Kingdom’s women in economic decision-making at all levels. As part of its efforts to achieve real empowerment of women in society and across all industries, Saudi Arabia has also been working on providing a social security system that benefits all women and men in various stages of their life. This week, reports by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development indicate that Saudi women are now the primary beneficiaries of the nation’s social security, making up 60.5 percent of recipients.
Statistics show that regarding the different categories of payments offered, the one with the largest share, standing at over 37 percent, is the non-breadwinner women category, followed by those unable to work (mostly men), a category that received 24.8 percent of social security payments, in third the elderly group, followed by the non-dependent family group, in fifth were single people, and then orphans. With specific regards to female beneficiaries, single women outnumbered men in the single beneficiaries’ category, clocking in at 136,427 compared to 136,253 men.
For years, Saudi Arabia has been working to transform its society through modernizing its social welfare system, in order to make it more efficient, empowering, and just. For instance, in 2019, “SNAD Mohammad Bin Salman” was launched, a social welfare program that is seen as part of the Crown Prince’s efforts to empower Saudi Arabian citizens and help them achieve their socioeconomic goals. Indeed, since his ascension to his role in 2017, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman has launched a series of initiatives and projects aimed at transforming the Kingdom’s society and diversifying its economy, a large part of which has been ensuring that women are fully supported.
