Careem pledges to recruit 20,000 female Captains by 2020

Careem, a leading ride-hailing app in the region, has announced its commitment to recruit more women as “Captains” (Careem drivers) on its platform. Founded in 2012 in Dubai, Careem now has a footprint of close to 100 cities across the wider Middle East and some 500,000 Captains signed up to its platform.
Careem currently has female Captains in the UAE, Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon, and Palestine. Despite societal norms of driving being a job associated only with men, Pakistan leads the female fleet in numbers and sees female Captains signed up to drive bikes and rickshaws as well as cars.
Following the historical announcement in Saudi Arabia in September 2017 that women would now be allowed to drive, Careem was quick to register more than 2,000 women across Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. With a female-only call center already operational in Jeddah, Careem will look to launch a female-only training center in the Kingdom later this year with specialized training materials and female coaches.
The Women Captains Committee at Careem will work on a range of projects such as improving experience for female Captains in all markets as well as preparing female Captains to drive in Saudi Arabia. The committee includes Captain Experience, Safety and Security, Social Impact, Sustainability and Supply teams, who together, will create tailored programs for female Captains to both attract and retain them. In light of the ongoing instability in certain areas of the region, heightened safety and security measures will be put in place to keep female Captains safe.
Careem said it will also address the needs of mothers wishing to register on their platform, looking into incentive structures and comfortable, flexible environments for them to work in.
Mudassir Sheikha, CEO and co-founder of Careem, said: “We realize that up until today we have focused our efforts predominantly on attracting and catering to male Captains.
It’s time for us and the entire industry to wake up. Not only is there a moral obligation to do so, but there’s also a huge opportunity to grow our business around women and give them the economic opportunity to excel. Women are often the primary breadwinners and are looking for alternative, flexible ways to support their families.”