50% of GCC women voice promotion fears

WOMEN AT WORK: Emirates Business Woman of the Year Maryam Al Bannai.

One in two GCC women believe they have a lower chance of being promoted than their male colleagues, research has revealed.

A survey conducted by job site Bayt.com and research specialist YouGovSiraj has found that less than a third of women in the Arab world feel that their prospects of getting a promotion are equal to those of their male counterparts and that more than one in five think male colleagues receive preferential treatment.

“With ever greater calls for increasing the number of the region's nationals in domestic workforces, women have a more strategic role to play in the further economic development and growth of the Middle East than ever before,” Bayt.com chief executive Rabea Ataya said.

Western women were the most optimistic about their career prospects, with 44% -- almost double the average of 27% -- describing their chances of a promotion as equal to those of their male equivalents.

Almost half the women surveyed (46%) believed they receive less pay than their male counterparts, with Asian nationals (58%) most likely to feel this was the case.

Equality in terms of remuneration also differed by job sector, with the majority of female government and semi-government employees reporting a salary on par with their male colleagues, compared with only 34% of women in locally owned companies.

Many women felt that employers should provide preferential treatment to them because of their work load at home, with 62% of respondents stating that they should receive special benefits because they are “responsible for the wellbeing of the family”.

Asian women (71%) felt most strongly that they should receive special benefits,

compared with only 48% of Westerners. However, 63% said they did not receive any special treatment on account of their gender.

Eighty percent indicated that more benefits, such as day care facilities for their children, would extend their working life.

“In spite of several gender based disadvantages and additional familial responsibilities, what struck me as being truly remarkable was the sheer determination of women to succeed,” YouGovSiraj chief executive Nassim Ghrayeb said.

“This is clearly evident from the majority of women (72%) who said they would prefer to work even if they were given the option not to.”

Data for the July 2008 Women in the Workplace survey were collected online between the 4th and 22nd of June, with 2,602 women recruited, 1,515 of whom were working, across the Arab world. The women surveyed were between 15 and 59 years old.

Last month, Emirates Businesswoman of the Year Maryam Al Bannai claimed there has never been a better time for Emirati women to scale the highest levels of the business and corporate world.

More than 40 percent of the staff at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), across all levels of the business - including in the boardroom – are women and Al Bannai, Vice President of Corporate Support Services there, said she is leading the charge to open up further opportunities.

Emirati women 'can hit business heights'
Emirati Businesswoman of the Year says there has never been better opportunities for local women.

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