RIYADH: A group of young Saudi philanthropists has launched an e-portal in Riyadh on Monday to help Saudi and expatriate women to find employment in the Kingdom.Glowork (www.glowork.net) is the first website in the GCC that aims to provide fully-fledged career guidance to women. The website currently serves the Kingdom and will expand to other countries in the region as demand increases.“Given the high demand in increasing the Saudization percentage in the market and the need to increase diversity in the workplace, Glowork has been set up to serve both fresh graduates and experienced women,” Khalid Alkhudair, founder of Glowork, told Arab News.“We believe there are numerous job opportunities for women in the Kingdom, but what they currently lack is a channel that links them together. Glowork is that channel.”Alkhudair said the website is in both English and Arabic. “Although we started the English version as a pilot project one month ago, the Arabic version is being commissioned on Monday at a simple ceremony in Riyadh.” The service is currently provided free of charge.There has been tremendous response from the public sector, Alkhudair said, explaining that 60 companies have already registered with Glowork. “We have already listed 150 vacancies for young women.”The founders have given all organizations in the Kingdom the opportunity to post job vacancies free-of-charge for the upcoming month as part of their launch promotion.“Our board members really believe in this initiative and they have established a channel of communication with women who are eagerly waiting for a job in the private sector,” said Felwa Al-Bazie, Glowork’s managing director.
She said the board is composed of leaders in various fields and sectors. They include Alkhudair, who has extensive experience in marketing and communications; UN Goodwill Ambassador Muna Abusulayman, one of the most influential women in the world, a leader in philanthropy and prominent media personality; Jamal Al-Mansour, vice president of human resources of Deutsche Gulf Finance; and Khalid Al-Saleh, chief executive officer of Dr. Café.“Our website doesn’t stop just there. We want to ensure it is continuously updated with the latest technology and innovations and broaden our ideas to the point we can allow women and large international corporate organizations to conduct their interviews online,” Al-Bazie said.Abusulayman, who is also the secretary-general of the Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation, said Glowork’s services help women to choose jobs suited to them rather than those that are simply available.That is the difference between just doing your job or enjoying your career,” she added. – Arabnews
