Middle East: 68% of Working Women Say They are Treated Equal to Men

As many as 68 per cent of women in the Middle East and North Africa feel that they are treated equally to men at work, a report claims.

The survey by the Middle Eastern job site Bayt.com, and research specialists, YouGov, also revealed that 57 per cent of the women felt that the system of appreciating, recognising or rewarding employees is based on performance alone and not on gender.

"There is a global trend as women around the world continue to occupy prominent positions across industries and climb further up the corporate ladder.

"Gender diversity today is no longer a corporate responsibility charter but a sound business practice, with numerous studies clearly pointing out the direct co-relation between diversity and profitability of companies globally," explains Sanjay Modi, managing director India, Middle East and South East Asia, Monster.com.

But despite more than half of the participants saying that they worked an almost equal number of hours as their male colleagues, a third of the women felt that they received less pay. These numbers were higher among GCC nationals and expats, with almost half saying that they were paid less than the male workers.

Elements

The Women in the Middle East Workplace — 2011 survey revealed various elements of the role of working women including their opinions, approaches, capabilities and contentment in the workplace.

The survey also gave researchers an insight into their views regarding their treatment at work in comparison to their male counterparts.

"The objective [of the survey] was to understand the perceptions and attitudes of working women and their experience in the workplace, which is an immensely significant instrument in finding out the true nature of the business environment from a woman's perspective in the Middle East and North Africa today," said Amer Zureikat, vice-president of sales, Bayt.com.

Data for the survey series was collected online between April 26 and May 23, with 2,347 women participating in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. A mix of local, Arab, expatraites, Western and Asian nationalities (18 years and above) were included in the survey.

"In following and observing this data, businesses and industries across the entire region can benefit from the results, allowing women to adjust, or grow within their working environment, as well as change behaviours for promoting gender equality," said Zureikat.

The survey also revealed that 31 per cent of working women think they have less chance of being promoted than their male counterparts though interestingly enough 25 per cent of those working women stated that they would prefer to work under a male boss rather than a female.

This is probably due to the fact that most career women are used to working under male management, with three quarters of working women currently reporting to a male boss. When asked about the benefits offered to working women in the region almost half of the women said that they received paid maternity leave, but nearly 25 per cent said that they were not satisfied with the maternity leave period or related benefits available to them.

About 32 per cent of the women said that they received family health insurance and 26 per cent said that they received formal work training.

Shaikha Azza A. Al Qassimi, Human Resources and IT Manager, Expo Centre Sharjah explains that the strong support of the UAE government has empowered an increasing number of women to join the workforce in the region.

"There has been a strong and positive increase in the female workforce due to many factors, the most important being secure, equal and positive environment that nourishes the growth in numbers. In coming years the government initiative will see the further growth with more women holding positions of power," said Shaikha Azza.

Opportunities

Modi also predicts that with more education opportunities available for women in the Middle East, the region will see more and more women participating in the workforce across various sectors.

"The Middle East is seeing a vast percentage of women perusing higher education which is on par with the developed world. The UAE is among the developing nations where women are on the rise as part of the educated, potential work force.

"In the UAE 65 per cent of college enrollment/graduation is female, according to The Centre for Work-Life Policy, placing it above the US, UK and Canada in this respect," said Modi.