Zahia Marwan Sahli
Report # 1:Saudi Market for Graphic Design & Digital Media Caareers
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the destination of many workers looking for careers,
attracts the workers with great hospitality, good pay, and most importantly, appreciation of
the efforts made. Many people choose Saudi Arabia for many reasons; taxes and deductions
are not made in Saudi Arabia due to the policy of the country, The worker usually receives a
plane ticket to his/her home country, also, housing and transportation expenses are usually
covered as well. There are many foreign workers in Saudi Arabia, however, they are part of
the community on a temporary basis and generally not allowed to become part of the
permanent population. Another reason workers and investors are attracted to Saudi Arabia is
because it is ranked 22nd for the year of 2013 on the list of “Ease of doing business index”
which is a list developed by the World Bank. Countries with higher rankings have better and
simpler regulations and policies for businesses. Saudi Arabia is the the highest ranked
compared to neighbouring countries. UAE, which is the second highest ranked country in the
area on the list, is ranked 26th. This shows that Saudi Arabia is covers a wide variety of
workplaces for the worker and gives an investor a reason to invest in the country.
In Saudi customs, women are usually told to stay home while the men are supposed to work and provide. Nonetheless, that has not stopped women from working. Studies have shown that between the years 2000 and 2008, the number of women in the workforce increased by 280%. Today women hold 5 to 15% of the workforce, still not comparable to UAE and Kuwait’s 40%, but is a huge improvement for Saudi Arabia. Saudi women are allowed to work only if their male guardian allows them to. However, not all jobs are open for both sexes in Saudi Arabia, such as being a judge; those higher ranked jobs are reserved for men. The most common jobs for a woman in Saudi Arabia are nursing, teaching, and various office-works. 30% of the women in Saudi Arabia are illiterate but the number isdecreasing. More Saudi women are being educated and are expected to hold reputable jobs once graduated such as being a doctor.
In Saudi customs, women are usually told to stay home while the men are supposed to work and provide. Nonetheless, that has not stopped women from working. Studies have shown that between the years 2000 and 2008, the number of women in the workforce increased by 280%. Today women hold 5 to 15% of the workforce, still not comparable to UAE and Kuwait’s 40%, but is a huge improvement for Saudi Arabia. Saudi women are allowed to work only if their male guardian allows them to. However, not all jobs are open for both sexes in Saudi Arabia, such as being a judge; those higher ranked jobs are reserved for men. The most common jobs for a woman in Saudi Arabia are nursing, teaching, and various office-works. 30% of the women in Saudi Arabia are illiterate but the number isdecreasing. More Saudi women are being educated and are expected to hold reputable jobs once graduated such as being a doctor.
Media is a great tool for marketing; it is told that a picture is worth a thousand words.
The media in Saudi Arabia is censored strictly. No strong language, violence, alcohol, drug
usage, nor nudity is depicted in the Saudi media, though sometimes alluded to. In Saudi
tradition, a woman’s face is to be covered from men; this led to women’s faces being
pixelated or blurred in most commercials and pictures in media. Same could be said about
alcohol and drug usage on some public TV stations. Alcohol and drugs are prohibited but
sometimes shown in media borrowed from the West. The censorship makes it hard for
companies to advertise and limits their creativity. Creativity has not been an issue to some,
but certainly for most. Saudi TV shows have shown that censorship is not as strict as it used
to be; whereas in some TV shows now cast women to be on shows, this was not accepted in
the past.
Women have not been a huge part of Saudi media in the past but things have changed. In advertisements, women’s faces are pixelated or blurred; it is an improvement than not having women at all. Some times in extreme conditions, women are even removed from the picture, if not considered suitable by the government. Unlike the west, women in Saudi media are not objectified. Saudi women are usually depicted as house wives and/or mothers. They are also preferred to be wearing the traditional dress code, the Abaya, or at least the head covering. Saudi Arabia is not known for being involved in the media through movies and TV series, yet some productions air on television during the month of Ramadan. Women in the series are usually portrayed as a stay-at-home mother or house wife, usually not very well educated. Women are also shown to be emotionally driven whereas men are shown to be logically driven. Women are also shown to be very dependent on men. This reflects the Saudi culture and traditions on how women are independent.
Women have not been a huge part of Saudi media in the past but things have changed. In advertisements, women’s faces are pixelated or blurred; it is an improvement than not having women at all. Some times in extreme conditions, women are even removed from the picture, if not considered suitable by the government. Unlike the west, women in Saudi media are not objectified. Saudi women are usually depicted as house wives and/or mothers. They are also preferred to be wearing the traditional dress code, the Abaya, or at least the head covering. Saudi Arabia is not known for being involved in the media through movies and TV series, yet some productions air on television during the month of Ramadan. Women in the series are usually portrayed as a stay-at-home mother or house wife, usually not very well educated. Women are also shown to be emotionally driven whereas men are shown to be logically driven. Women are also shown to be very dependent on men. This reflects the Saudi culture and traditions on how women are independent.
The Saudi market attracts qualified workers with high and reputable jobs, high pay,
and not taxations and deductions to the salary. The workforce is consisted of 5 to 15%
females and growing. This defies the Saudi tradition of the man working when the woman
stays at home. This has not stopped women from working. Women, unlike in the past are
being more educated and are expected to hold high ranked positions in the work place in the
future. The media is a huge part of the life in Saudi Arabia, most of their movies and series
are westernised yet censorship is strict. The censorship encourages companies to blur or
pixelate faces for approval. Saudi media productions are usually biased towards women,
depicting them as house wives and vulnerable beings that are totally dependent on men for
the simplest thing, even survival. The Saudi workforce is advancing to become more
accepting of females and this is also shown in their media. Will Saudi ever get rid of the bias
it holds towards women? Only time will tell.
Word count: 914 words.
References:
Word count: 914 words.
References:
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"Jobs in Saudi Arabia, Jobs in Gulf Countries, Tax free Jobs, Oil Jobs, Refinery
Jobs." Jobs in Saudi Arabia, Jobs in Gulf Countries, Tax free Jobs, Oil Jobs, Refinery
Jobs. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2013. <http://www.saudiarabiacareers.com/>.
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Wikipedia. "Saudi Arabia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2013.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia#Culture/>.
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