Number of Saudi females in ICT sector rises significantly in five years: Minister

RIYADH: The percentage of women working in the information techology and communications sector has risen by four times in five years.

While talking to Abdullah Al-Mudaifer on the Rotana Khalijia channel, Abdullah Al-Sawaha, minister of communications and information technology revealed that women’s participation rate went up from 7 percent to 29 percent, since he took charge in 2017.

The rate of Saudis working in the sector has jumped from 37 percent to 57 percent in five years, according to the minister.

Talking about the growth of the sector and its ability to attract investors, the minister noted that Cisco has decided to increase its investments tenfold in Saudi Arabia, after a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

The minister also talked about a potential plan to change the name of the communication and information technology ministry to the “Ministry of Digital Economy.”

Al-Sawaha predicted that Saudi Arabia will be a global leader in bridging the digital divide of the internet through satellite communication services by 2030. 
He added that the Kingdom is currently ranked sixth in terms of internet speed.