Unwanted Consequences: The Trade-Off between Gender Equality and Precarity in Saudi Arabian Context

Abstract

This paper looks at the Saudi state policies impact on reducing labour market inequalities and increasing female labour force participation against the socio-institutional backdrop of enduring patriarchy and gender segregation. Analysis of twenty-six in-depth interviews with employees (men and women) and other stakeholders in the retail sector offered contributions to extant precarity research by unpacking both socio-institutional and organisational mechanisms that contribute to/exacerbate structural precarity. Specifically, we highlight psychological precarity as experienced by both genders. For men, this is heightened in job insecurity and weakening of the family ideology and the breadwinner model, while for women it is portrayed in the internalisation of sexual harassment given their socio-economic vulnerability and lack of organisational protection(s). We highlight how structural changes via state-driven policies may clash with the slower to change societal structures and socio-religious norms; resulting in the experience of both structural and psychological precarity in workplaces.