A job ad for 30 women in Saudi Arabia to drive trains draws an inundation of more than 28,000 applicants

Women in the conservative kingdom were only permitted to get behind the wheel of a car in 2018, after much global scrutiny and internal social pressure.

Renfe said in a statement on Wednesday that this was the first time in the country’s history that Saudi women would have access to such a profession. It added that more than half of the applicants had passed the first phase of the hiring process, which assessed academic records and English language skills.

“More than 28,000 candidates of Saudi nationality have registered in just one month in the selection tests,” the company said. “Those selected will drive the train that connects the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, the first high-speed train to be built in the Middle East.”

The hiring process opened in January, the company said, with candidates’ ages ranging between 22 and 30. Those lucky few who make it to the next round will need to undertake more tests, an interview and, if successful, will do one year of paid training beginning in March, Renfe said.

Women make up about 42 percent of the Saudi population but account for just 21 percent of the total labor force, according to World Bank data. They have long faced strict gender segregation rules and guardianship laws requiring permission to travel and marry, with jobs largely confined to professions such as teaching and health care.

Female participation in the workforce has nearly doubled in the last five years to 33 percent, according to Reuters, but female unemployment remains far higher than male, despite the de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman working to diversify the oil-reliant economy and expand the nation’s workforce.

For a second year, coronavirus shrinks Saudi Arabia’s once immense hajj pilgrimage

Renfe said it had already hired and trained more than 400 Saudis for jobs at stations and on trains, but it did not specify their gender.

The “Haramain High Speed ​​Railway,” which opened in 2018, has revolutionized how pilgrims, who flock to perform the Umrah and Hajj in Saudi Arabia, move around. The high-speed bullet trains equipped with special sand blowers and air conditioning able to withstand scorching desert temperatures, reach a maximum speed of 300 km/h. At least 20 trains run each day, with more added during the month of Ramadan.

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