Uber's female empowerment efforts assist Saudi Arabia's objective of increasing women's workforce by 2030

Uber, which operates UberTaxi in Saudi Arabia, has disclosed insights from female drivers in the Kingdom, highlighting financial independence and safety as important concerns. Data suggest that female empowerment is having a positive impact in the Kingdom, with more than 76 percent of participants claiming financial freedom as the reason they drive with Uber. These figures come from an Uber survey of female drivers in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

More than 56% of participants said they used Uber to help support their families, with 46.89% of drivers effectively enhancing their financial security. A huge majority emphasised the sense of community it helped foster, with 77 percent stating they felt comfortable driving with Uber. Localised features, such as the "women preferred view" — a product Uber developed specifically for Saudi Arabia before spreading to other countries — provide female drivers the option of connecting with female customers. More than half of the participants intend to continue their professional development with Uber.

In keeping with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 aims, Uber continues to engage with, empower, and encourage women's growth in Saudi Arabia by providing income possibilities, flexibility, and increased safety measures for female drivers. Wusool, Uber's subsidised women's empowerment programme established in 2017, has assisted over 120,000 women in taking 20 million journeys to and from work by 2021. This has been essential in propelling Saudi Arabia's female labour participation rate, which has increased to 37 percent by mid-2022.