India’s Tata to outsources to women in Saudi Arabia

[Bhai Zakir]

India’s Tata to outsources to women in Saudi Arabia

Forget outsourcing to India. India’s largest IT company is now planning to outsource to Saudi Arabia, debuting its first “all-female services center” in Riyadh yesterday, the Financial Times reports.

Tata Consultancy Services, which was founded in 1968 in Mumbai and is now valued at almost US $64 billion, will open the center in spring 2014, in partnership with General Electric, which will join as a client along with Saudi Aramco.

With the goal of eventually employing 3,000 women, the center will launch with an initial staff of 400, who will work in human resources and finance (contrary to what you might imagine, those in need of IT tech support will not now hear the voice of a Saudi woman; a woman-staffed call center might violate conservative norms).

The Indian IT company's motivation for entering the Saudi market is simply noted as a plan to tap the Kingdom’s underemployed talent pool.

“In India, there has been huge opportunity for our industry to liberate underused talent and, while Saudi isn’t on the same scale, there is still a big opportunity to help people, especially women, find good professional jobs,” Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the chief executive of TCS, told the FT.

Chandrasekaran also explained that he doesn’t expect criticism about other women’s employment efforts to chase Tata, because the platform has the support of the Saudi government.

This news comes on the heels of Glowork’s recent, somewhat surprising accquisition for $16 million. Glowork, an online platform that connects women in Saudi Arabia to part-time and full-time jobs, is also supported by the Saudi government and counts the Saudi Ministry of Labor as its primary client.

Hiring women in Saudi can be a bit of a racket, Glowork founder Khalid Alkhudair explained when discussing the company’s acquisition; some businesses hire women simply to reach Saudization goals, without actually offering real jobs. As it is, the government is incentivized to support employment in any form, having spent $10 billion on unemployment last year.

At Tata, which has grown to over $11 billion in yearly revenues, partly thanks to selling Y2K conversion software in the 90s, these women- whether Saudi or expatriate- will be a small percentage of a near-300,000 employee base, but they will certainly have real jobs.

Tata is hardly the first Indian IT company to seek out talent in the Arab world (remember the story of Aspire.jo?), but its plan to outsource to women in Saudi Arabia marks a tidal shift in the Middle East.

India's largest IT company outsources to women in Saudi Arabia | Wamda.com

India

India’s Tata is opening Saudi Arabia’s first all-women business service center – Quartz

 

[chhota bheem]

good for saudi women.

 

[Brahmos_2]

Bad move what abt the jobless in India...?

 

[Mech]

Bad move what abt the jobless in India...?

Are you jobless enough to want to work in a call center ?

Using Saudi women gives TCS the ability to support Arabic speaking clientele. At least, that's what I think.

 

[Bhai Zakir]

Bad move what abt the jobless in India...?

Its a great win win situation. Saudis will get jobs and we will get $$$$$$$$$$$

Tata is there to tap the huge Saudi market and its a rule to hire some of the local people.

But, by hiring women Tata is doing a good job in empowering women out there.

 

[jaunty]

@kalu_miah hates this.

 

[neehar]

tatas are always responsible and professional. thats one thing i like about them

 

[JAT BALWAN]

@kalu_miah hates this.

well some people hate every thing living or dead in the world but the irony is that in this side of world (count tata)no one gives a flying hoot to them...

 

[eastwatch]

@kalu_miah hates this.

Not him, but many fanatics are worried that they cannot take four wives if the women are employed in jobs. Do you fear Talibans bombing TATA offices in SA?

 

[GURU DUTT]

India’s Tata to outsources to women in Saudi Arabia

Forget outsourcing to India. India’s largest IT company is now planning to outsource to Saudi Arabia, debuting its first “all-female services center” in Riyadh yesterday, the Financial Times reports.

Tata Consultancy Services, which was founded in 1968 in Mumbai and is now valued at almost US $64 billion, will open the center in spring 2014, in partnership with General Electric, which will join as a client along with Saudi Aramco.

With the goal of eventually employing 3,000 women, the center will launch with an initial staff of 400, who will work in human resources and finance (contrary to what you might imagine, those in need of IT tech support will not now hear the voice of a Saudi woman; a woman-staffed call center might violate conservative norms).

The Indian IT company's motivation for entering the Saudi market is simply noted as a plan to tap the Kingdom’s underemployed talent pool.

“In India, there has been huge opportunity for our industry to liberate underused talent and, while Saudi isn’t on the same scale, there is still a big opportunity to help people, especially women, find good professional jobs,” Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the chief executive of TCS, told the FT.

Chandrasekaran also explained that he doesn’t expect criticism about other women’s employment efforts to chase Tata, because the platform has the support of the Saudi government.

This news comes on the heels of Glowork’s recent, somewhat surprising accquisition for $16 million. Glowork, an online platform that connects women in Saudi Arabia to part-time and full-time jobs, is also supported by the Saudi government and counts the Saudi Ministry of Labor as its primary client.

Hiring women in Saudi can be a bit of a racket, Glowork founder Khalid Alkhudair explained when discussing the company’s acquisition; some businesses hire women simply to reach Saudization goals, without actually offering real jobs. As it is, the government is incentivized to support employment in any form, having spent $10 billion on unemployment last year.

At Tata, which has grown to over $11 billion in yearly revenues, partly thanks to selling Y2K conversion software in the 90s, these women- whether Saudi or expatriate- will be a small percentage of a near-300,000 employee base, but they will certainly have real jobs.

Tata is hardly the first Indian IT company to seek out talent in the Arab world (remember the story of Aspire.jo?), but its plan to outsource to women in Saudi Arabia marks a tidal shift in the Middle East.

India's largest IT company outsources to women in Saudi Arabia | Wamda.com

India

India’s Tata is opening Saudi Arabia’s first all-women business service center – Quartz

do saudi women have rights to work even its news to me i thought saudies were wahabies and are dead against women litracci forget about letting there women work ...starnge very very strange news

 

[sree45]

Not him, but many fanatics are worried that they cannot take four wives if the women are employed in jobs. Do you fear Talibans bombing TATA offices in SA?

If taliban starts bombing in SA, then they won't get $$$$$ from saudis.

 

[Mritunjaya]

tatas are always responsible and professional. thats one thing i like about them

This has nothing to do with responsible behavior of Tata's but more to do with practical business realities.

Vast majority of Saudi men are lazy, arrogant and look down upon Indians so it will be foolish to employ them and next to impossible to make them work productively.

Saudi women are more keen to have a job and become independent in an oppressive society so they are more willing to become professionals and less keen to rake controversial issues and create problems.

Besides the new law in Saudi Arabia makes it mandatory to hire saudi workers to do business there. It's a pure business move.

 

[neehar]

This has nothing to do with responsible behavior of Tata's but more to do with practical business realities.

Vast majority of Saudi men are lazy, arrogant and look down upon Indians so it will be foolish to employ them and next to impossible to make them work productively.

Saudi women are more keen to have a job and become independent in an oppressive society so they are more willing to become professionals and less keen to rake controversial issues and create problems.

Besides the new law in Saudi Arabia makes it mandatory to hire saudi workers to do business there. It's a pure business move.

yeah u've done a research on them. dont quote me if u wish to make loose childish comments.do u know that in general bpo s prefer male as any time would be comfortable for them and can work for long hours including nights and they need not worry much about their saftey??

 

[Mritunjaya]

yeah u've done a research on them. dont quote me if u wish to make loose childish comments.do u know that in general bpo s prefer male as any time would be comfortable for them and can work for long hours including nights and they need not worry much about their saftey??

Your 'knowledge' about bpo seems tremendous ........is that your dream job ? maybe you should be advising Tata's on how to run their bpo in saudi arabia

 

[shiv]

muslim women will work in a predominantly hindu company named after a parsi ! A sad day for brotherhood indeed