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Working women in the Middle-East - a look at the challenge (part I)

Guest post by: Michel Amour

Article Overview: With this article, I will try to shed some light on the challenges every Muslim woman faces when entering the workplace. I have gathered some of my findings from my recent trip to UAE and the many interactions I had with top women executives and the men they are working with.

Working women in the Middle-East - a look at the challenge (part I)

For most of the women born and raised in North America, being an independent woman is easy, a pre-requisite of our society, where women study, live, marry and work freely. It is called natural human evolution. I am not denying that even today, women are still under paid when comparing to men, however, this could be a topic for another Newsletter.

Saudi-Arabia and UAE is a traditional Muslim society where the teaching of Islam plays an important role in every aspect of life, politics, school, foreign relations and business. People look to Islam for direction and wisdom. If we look closely, at the Koran, it is said that women and men are equal partners, however if we compare to the reality of the regions, we note that there are clear differences between men and women in the workplace.
Saudi Arabia and UAE are both Islamic states; however the difference is on the angle of social culture, position of women in the workplace and in society.

Saudi Arabia is a more conservative society, where women are not allowed to drive, have no voting rights and until recently could not own their own business. Things have changed since the new Crown Prince is in place and the strategy to modernize Saudi Arabia is driving Saudi women to open up, achieve higher education levels and open up their own business. A recent report showed that women today own 17,300 businesses in Saudi Arabia, representing a huge improvement from previous era. Nonetheless, women are still facing barriers when applying to job opportunities in construction and engineering.

The new Crown Prince is trying hard to implement European specs into a rigid society, as he believes his country will flourish under new visions. His amendments started to leverage women and their capabilities to dominate new markets, especially foreign affairs. I can safely say that what I have noticed recently is satisfying, given that Saudi woman are driving a new era of economy.
The UAE are different, driven by a sustainable leadership, making it one of the most flourishing state in the Middle-East. Dubai for example, has seen more women owned business then men’s, and more successful! Women were always given the opportunity to drive, vote, own their own business and contribute to the political scene, nationally as well as internationally.

Dubai is driven by Muslim religion, similar to Saudi-Arabia, however society dictates a leaner behavior, heavily influenced by the US and Europe. Dubai has seen a tremendous growth in the past 10 years, specifically due to open doors allowing American, Canadian and European companies establish their foot print for business. These international relationships, have given the opportunity to a greater amount of women involved in foreign affairs, international law and politics.

Nonetheless, these women are yet to see their rights equal those of men working in similar fields. They still encounter psychological and physical harassment, insubordination from male employees and most of all, discrimination when it comes to specific job opportunities.
Being a consultant with Power ONE, I worked alongside many local women and men, many times on similar tasked projects, and the difference can be flagrant. Some women are more educated, more poised and possess greater communication skills then some men, and I have yet to see them earn the same respect as men when presenting for a local Board of Directors.

Luckily for local educated women involved in the workplace, the vast majority of international consultants working in Dubai are bringing with them this open door policy, giving more leverage to women across the board, hiring local women for highly technical jobs and ensuring they get equal promotion abilities when an opportunity is presented.

In the Middle East alone, women drive the economy with close to 1.7 million jobs and business—it is time to recognize this force and embrace the positive change!

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