Insider Look: Saudi women who plan on working in male-dominated fields

In recent months, careers in fields previously thought to be male-dominated have been >opening up to Saudi women.

As a huge number of Saudi> women join the kingdom's workforce, so many of them are defying social norms and training for careers that were off-limit to them for so long. 

We spoke to a few of the women working towards breaking into such fields and asked them to share their inspirational stories. 

Here's what they told us: 

Speaking to StepFeed, 28-year-old Lamia shared her plans of becoming a flight attendant in her home country. 

"I graduated with a business degree five years ago but I wasn't passionate about the field, ever. I always dreamed of working in aviation, more specifically I wanted to be a flight attendant," she said.

Family pressure eventually led Lamia to take up a job as a PR executive, in which she settled for a while.

"I knew that even if I did get training to become a flight attendant I wouldn't be able to work in the kingdom because no local airlines were hiring women at the time. And my family wouldn't have allowed me to take a job abroad so I simply just let it go," she added. 

When the young woman found out some Saudi airlines were >starting to hire local female flight attendants, she didn't think twice about applying.

"Everyone was shocked when I told them I want to be a flight attendant. My family are still a bit upset, they don't think this is a good field for women, given the hours and everything. But I know they'll come around because they know how passionate I am about this," she explained.

The future flight attendant is now in her second month of training and is excited to start working sometime next year. 

"I can't wait to start working and I am going to apply to every airline opening spaces for women. I am so close to achieving my dream," she said. 

Maysaa, a divorced mother of two, is currently training to work as a taxi driver. In a statement to StepFeed, she explained why she chose the field and expressed her excitement at entering the kingdom's workforce. 

"After I got divorced, I felt like I wanted to work, to make my own money and become financially independent. Just a few months back I'd never have imagined working as a taxi driver, but now I feel like everything's possible. Women >can drive now, we can get licenses so why not?" she said. 

"I took driving lessons and applied for a driving test. Now all I need is my license and I'll be ready to apply for a job," she added. 

The 38-year-old hopes to work with a ride-hailing app and feels there's space for Saudi women in the market. She also wants to set an example for her own daughter. 

"So many of my family members are against me working as a taxi driver, but isn't it better than just sitting at home? I don't have a university degree but I want my daughter to know that nothing can stop a person when they're determined to achieve a dream. I want her to know that this is our era and we can achieve everything," she added. 

Sarah, a 20-year-old student, spoke to StepFeed about the excitement she felt when she heard Saudi women are now allowed to work in car maintenance and mechanics.

"Car mechanics have always interested me and now I can finally work in the field. I was thrilled when I heard the news and immediately started looking for training courses," she said. 

"I am still in my first year of college and I am studying business. I like my courses and don't feel they'll go against my car mechanics training. I am thinking of launching a car maintenance company and running it myself in the future. That way I'll be using both my degrees," she explained. 

Sarah's parents are supportive of her ambitions and stand by her when she gets criticism from extended family members. 

"Yes, there are so many relatives who believe anything related to cars isn't for women and they make that known. So many people in our society believe the same. But, if none of us join fields we're passionate about even at a time when they've become open to us, what message would that send?" she added. 

Loulwa never thought she'd be able to act or perform on stage in the kingdom. That's because theater had long been a> male-dominated field in the country. However, she still went ahead and enrolled in a stage acting degree in Europe. Today, she's working on getting a master's degree in the field. 

Speaking to StepFeed, the 23-year old considers herself privileged to have a family that supports her dream of becoming an actress.

"When I told my parents I wanted to become an actress, they laughed it off. Then, I persisted and they realized how serious I was. I acted in plays in my private school and with the support of my teachers I was able to apply for an acting course abroad," she said. 

"My parents are paying for my bachelor's degree and supporting me as much as they can but they still have their concerns. Before it was announced that women were officially allowed to act on stage in the kingdom, they knew I'd try to stay outside the country to try and pursue my dream. Now, they have hope for me to build a future back home and that just shows you how much things have changed," she explained. 

"Change is happening for Saudi women, it might be slow and long overdue, but it's happening and it's going to transform our lives," she added. 

With Vision 2030, more Saudi women are taking up jobs in new fields, such as >flight attendants and taxi drivers. 

Launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the >ever-transforming footprint aims at diversifying the economy beyond oil and increasing the percentage of Saudi women in the workforce.

With more women hired than ever before, Saudi Arabia's unemployment rate for women has seen significant drops.

During the third quarter of 2018, the rates> dropped to 30.9 percent among Saudi women, from 31.1 percent in the second quarter of 2018.

In recent months, the kingdom's General Directorate of Passports announced it will start recruiting women to work at airports and land border-crossing points. 

Even though there were only 140 job openings, over 107,000 women >applied. Last year, Director General of Traffic Mohammed Al Bassami announced women will soon be joining the >traffic police forces.

In October last year, the country created >80,000 jobs for Saudi women after it limited women's clothing stores' jobs to nationals only.

During that same month, Saudi officials announced that the Gulf state's Air Navigation Services Company (SANS) was planning to employ women as air traffic controllers for the first time in the country's history.

In August 2018, Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Civil Aviation >issued local pilot licenses to five Saudi women for the first time ever.