Abstract

The case ‘Glowork: A Recruitment Platform Empowering Women Employment in Saudi Arabia’ describes Glowork’s contributions to women’s employment and empowerment in Saudi Arabia and how the platform fostered women’s participation in and integration with the Saudi workforce through jobs in fields like banking, HR, sales, and design. The case touches upon how co-founder Khalid Alkhudair’s personal experiences led to the establishment of the recruitment software platform Glowork. He found that educated women had very few options to search for opportunities to work in the kingdom. The conservative culture and all-male workplaces also impeded women from seeking jobs. The case then describes the initiatives taken by the Saudi government and the late King Abdullah through the Nitaqat program to empower and increase the number of women in the workforce. The case further discusses how Glowork partnered with a technology firm to develop an interactive platform and the various support services it offered to employers and job seekers. It describes the various initiatives taken by Glowork to offer work opportunities. Glowork introduced the concept of virtual offices to serve unemployed women in rural areas who could not travel to work alone due to the conservative customs of the region. This gave employers access to local talent and also allowed women to work from home. Glowork partnered with the Ministry of Labor and the Human Resource Development Fund that offered support for the various initiatives and gave access to unemployment data in the kingdom. It also tied up with universities and educational institutions. The case also focuses on Glowork’s marketing efforts through an annual career fair that not only offered job opportunities but also conducted workshops for skill development. To offer better services, Glowork developed a new recruitment app. The case ends with the company’s growth plans to serve women candidates from different backgrounds looking for work across industries and levels, especially those at senior levels in Saudi Arabia.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the benefits of creating a recruitment platform for employers and employees
• Examine the need for career trade fairs as a recruitment source for employers
• Explore how a virtual office set-up can encourage women employment in conservative cultures
• Became aware of the relationship between women empowerment and employment opportunities
• Recognize the difference in requirements for women only recruitment platforms

Keywords

Training & Development; Skill Development; Sources of Recruitment; Platform Business Model; Human Resource Planning; Staffing; Public-private partnerships; Social Norms; Women Empowerment; Career Planning