Uber, Careem to recruit 10, 000 female drivers in Saudi Arabia

Uber and Careem, a Dubai-based ride-hailing app, is planning to hire no fewer than 10, 000 female drivers in Saudi Arabia by June 2018.

CNN reported that the companies have already launched training sessions targeting Saudi women who have already obtained driver’s licenses from abroad.

Female customers currently represent the majority of Uber’s rider base and its local counterpart, Careem, the report said.

In September 2017, Saudi Arabia announced in a royal decree that it would allow women to drive, ending a long-time policy in the Middle Eastern country.

Currently, all drivers employed by the two ride-hailing firms are male, and many working Saudi women spend much of their salaries on drivers or must be driven to work by their male relatives.