The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has one of the world's lowest women's labour force
participation rates, a multi-faceted problem on which the government spends a significant
proportions of its budget. New to higher education, women nevertheless dominate
undergraduate studies in the Saudi Arabia and undertake international scholarships. The
Saudi government is also actively supporting Saudis, women particularly, entry into the
private sector through employer penalties and incentives, the Nitaqat policy. Despite these
efforts,35 per cent of women in the labour force remain unemployed and the majority have
university degrees. Evidence suggests that there are considerable barriers to Nitaqat
initiatives in the form of legal restrictions on women‟s employment, cultural norms,
economic influence and relevant skills. Therefore, this study aims to identify, explore and
analyse the political, economic, legal, social and cultural factors that impact on Saudi
women's low labour force participation rate, particularly in the multinational sector.