Hospitality organisation Hilton Saudi Arabia is offering employer-funded financial support for its 250 female employees, in recognition of the country lifting the ban that previously prevented women from driving.
Hilton Saudi Arabia is now providing female employees with paid time off to attend driving lessons, as well as reimbursing female staff for the cost of a standard set of driving lessons and the typical license issuance fee.
In addition, Hilton Saudi Arabia will financially assist female employees who already hold a driving license from a different country, by helping cover the license conversion cost.
The employer-paid support package, which was implemented on 24 June 2018 when the ban was lifted, will be available for female employees at Hilton Saudi Arabia until December 2019.
The driving support package forms part of the organisation’s focus on increasing the number of female leaders in the business. To further support this aim, Hilton Saudi Arabia held a Women in Leadership conference for staff last April, and introduced a minimum of 12 weeks of fully-paid maternity leave for employees working in the Middle East and Africa.
Julia Miller, director of compensation and benefits, Middle East and Africa at Hilton, said: “We welcome the move to allow women to drive in Saudi Arabia. In line with Vision 2030, this is another step to open up the country that will encourage more women to join the workforce.
“At Hilton, we are always looking for ways to empower our team members and create world-class rewards and benefits. We have a fantastic group of female [employees] in Saudi Arabia and we are pleased to be encouraging them to take advantage of the new driving rules in the kingdom.”