A City Exclusively for Women
FEYERICK: Well, Saudi Arabia is bringing a new meaning to the phrase girl power. The country's planning to build a city exclusively for women run by women. This new city would prevent women from breaking the country's strict Islamic laws. CNN's Nic Robertson has a preview.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Deb, what the Saudi authorities are trying to do here is put more women into the workplace. Barely 15 percent of women are in the workforce in Saudi Arabia. That compares very poorly with the rest of the region; 60 percent or almost 60 percent, for example, here in the United Arab Emirates. Why aren't they putting women directly into the workplace for men? Because Islamic law says you can't do that and this is the Saudi solution. The agency, the government agency that is funding this project says it's going to cost about $130 million to create this women-only work environment. They're saying that there is space but perhaps up to 50 different businesses that could employ as many as 5,000 women at this one particular site in the east of Saudi Arabia. And they're saying that they will perhaps, if this works, then try and replicate it in as many as 40 other sites across the country. So an effort to sort of redress the balance of the female to male workforce and a recognition as well that while Saudi Arabia puts a lot of money on certain -- certainly a lot of money into female education, they're over-producing female graduates, if you will, of the unemployed female workforce. 80 percent of them are university graduates. Until now, they've been geared to go very much into the education sector. Many of those not finding jobs are leaving the country. So this business plan, this women-only business city, is hoped to get women working in the pharmaceutical and the textile and in the -- in the food processing industry. So it's an expansion of wealth for the roles for women but to find more space for all those educated women Saudi Arabia is producing -- Deb.</s>FEYERICK: Nic Robertson. 80 percent of college grads, well, we wish them well. Well, back in the U.S., $100 million in Manhattan and what would you buy? You could buy pretty much anything. We're going to go on a tour of the city's most expensive listing ever. The next hour of NEWSROOM starts after a quick break.