I’d like to share a story, if you’ll let me. One of my best friends is approached by a fast-growing, ambitious tech firm here in Abu Dhabi. The CV is brilliant, with decades spent in the tech sector at blue chip firms who are leaders in areas like artificial intelligence. And the person has an MBA, is from the Gulf, and has a passion for using technology to improve how we live.
Talks go well, and the person is happy with the role and fine with the package. And yet, at the end of the day, there’s a u-turn by the company. No real reason is given, except that the role may not be the “right fit”. This person is a woman, and I have a feeling that gender played a role in the final decision, especially given that the team has no senior females and that all hiring since has been for men who share a common prior employer (and yet have little to no tech industry experience).
It’s an experience which is repeated over and over, not just in our region. But we have a particular issue with gender representation at senior levels in business in the Gulf. Take, for example, the recent MENA Power List published by Campaign Middle East. Over 17 people were included, all of them the top executive of an agency or holding group in the marketing and communications sector. Not a single one of them was a woman.
There’s been many an angry word said about this list by women in the sector, which I empathise with (as an aside, I find it remarkable that the PR people featured on the list, experts in reputational affairs, didn’t ask if there’d be any women included or to be excluded once the list was complete). But at the same time, there are a handful of women CEOs. And a number of those women CEOs don’t want to talk about the issue or be highlighted, for fear of stoking the laughable idea that they are where they are just because they’re a woman, rather than for their ability.
For all of the talk about gender equality, for all of the nodding of heads about the need to better represent our customers (need we forget, half of the population is women), we’re doing a woeful job of empowering women in the workforce. Every organisation out there will put out the obligatory social media post on international women’s day, supporting their females. But words are cheap. We need a change in how we think and how we act.
What’s most frustrating is that the case for gender diversity has been made over and over again, with evidence and research. The smartest business leaders understand that diversity matters for a host of reasons. Firms that embrace diversity are able to attract better talent, they’re able to improve their creativity and innovation, and they’re more attractive to investors.
For reasons that I’m unable to understand, we are struggling to accept this idea in the region. I’ve got to a point where I think the only way forward to address this issue is with quotas. But we need more than this. As researchers Stephen Turban, Dan Wu, and Letian Zhang point out, we only truly benefit from gender diversity when we as a society support and embrace the idea of women working at all levels of an organization. We need more women role models, we need more diversity and inclusion communication, we must remove barriers and bias in recruitment, and we need more transparency. Just look at the shift happening in the UK following the requirement that corporations report on their hiring and pay practices for both men and women.
And I also want to see companies address this with suppliers. Leading firms like Unilever and Procter & Gamble actively promote gender equality in their supply chains, and they’re prioritising spending with women-owned businesses. Can you imagine the sea change we’d see in the marketing space alone if more brands followed this example?
We’ve been talking about gender diversity for so long, and yet it hurts to see so many talented and experienced women not achieve the success they deserve simply because of their gender. Women have to endure so much more than men, both at home and at work. When will this change? Why can’t we realise that gender diversity at all levels of our workforce isn’t just the right thing to do morally, but it also makes better business sense?
And if anyone is looking for a world class marketing and communications executive who is not only from the Gulf but is also a woman, do get in touch.
Alex Malouf, communications professional and the only Chartered Communicator, Chartered Marketer, and Senior Communication Management Professional in the Middle East.
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