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Saudi Women Are Joining the Workforce in Record Numbers

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Saudi seamstresses work at a factory in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. 

Saudi seamstresses work at a factory in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. 

 Photographer: Omar Salem/AFP/Getty Images

In Saudi Arabia, women still can't drive, yet they're entering the workforce in droves. 

The number of employed Saudi women has surged by 48 percent since 2010, more than double the rate for men, according to the country's Central Department of Statistics and Information. The change is especially noticeable in the private sector, where women can now be seen in an abaya and head scarf working as supermarket cashiers or selling lingerie in a high-end shopping mall.