For a society to change, there needs to be progress towards gender equality. International Women’s Day is around the corner. As we get closer to March 8, 2021, let’s take a look at the Middle East region and their progress towards women empowerment.
This region has garnered a lot of attention for its commendable efforts towards a shift in favour of equality. There have been active steps to evolve the role of women, such as yourself, in society. This includes ensuring that women have access to good education, health care, and are able to actively participate in all sectors.
Let’s take a closer look at the unprecedented growth of women in the Middle East.
Before diving into the status of women in the Middle East, let’s first understand why International Women’s Day is celebrated.
It dates all the way back to the turn of the twentieth century. At that time, women took a proactive position in the labour movements in North America and Europe. Protests against working conditions opened up the eyes of women to the gender inequalities they suffered at workplaces.
Although it was first celebrated in 1911, International Women's Day became official in 1977. That is when the UN officially recognized March 8 as International Women’s Day (IWD). By declaring a day to celebrate women, activists hope to call attention to and start conversations about accelerating gender parity.
The IWD community defines this day as “a global day for celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women”.
For this year’s International Women’s Day, the campaign theme is “Choose to Challenge”. It offers individuals the opportunity to reflect on the progress made till now.
Progress in gender equality has been made, but there's room for more. This theme encourages people to challenge the current society. The first step for change comes from within. So, this year is about being more alert towards your own actions for achieving gender parity.
Individuals need to take on challenges that will allow them to call out gender stereotypes and bias, amplifying their desire for an inclusive world.
As a working woman, you must be familiar with the difficulties of not being treated at par with your other colleagues. It is not a new issue, but this year's theme has brought the problem out for discussion.
Many regions still fail to provide equal and diverse opportunities to women. However, the Middle East is one such exception that has fared well in championing working women's rights.
For the most part, women in the Middle East region were typically seen working in the public job sector. However, the countries within this region have now come up with development programs. These programs open up opportunities in diverse fields like PR, Communication, Tech and so on. So, there are opportunities, both in the public and private sector.
The UAE is a classic example of how the Middle East is recognising the economic contribution of women. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, stipulated a law in favor of gender equality. This law calls for equal pay for men and women in the private sector for the same kind of work. Moreover, it demands that companies in the private sector employ more women.
Bayt.com recently did a survey called the “Working Women In MENA”. This survey gives valuable insight into the expectations of the working women in this region.
The first finding proves that the initiatives taken by various countries in the Middle East are working. A majority of the women respondents said that they are treated equally at their workplace in terms of career progression (67%), benefits (55%) and recruitment and selection (63%).
The workplace recognition and appreciation have made 49% of the respondents consider their career a major source of happiness.
Some of the top benefits that organizations provide include job-related training (31%), health insurance (39%), and paid maternity leave (38%). These numbers are impressive but not good enough to achieve complete gender parity.
While many have gotten great opportunities to progress such benefits, there are just as many who have not. In fact, survey respondents say that the top 5 challenges working women face in the workplace include-
Countries today are facing extreme transformation as they face technological and social shifts in economic development. This shift will have implications on gender equality and opportunities for women at work and for job seekers like you.
Here are some ways in which the women labour force in the Middle East will evolve in the upcoming years.
Equal pay is not merely defined by income. A significant number of women lack a supportive environment in terms of financial inclusion.
The Bayt.com survey respondents (55%) report that financial independence is the top reason for seeking employment. Other reasons include wanting to make financial contributions to the household (51%), secure the family’s future (42%), and broaden perspectives (43%). Yet, they are not given a chance to properly reap the benefits of working.
Organizations must look at achieving parity in income by looking at all aspects of financial compensation. This means taking into consideration overtime, bonuses, company shares, and so on.
For gender empowerment, countries must first pave the way for working women to take on leadership roles.
By encouraging more women to become decision-makers, you will feel more open to speaking out about gender equality. As a result, women decision-makers can help the future generation become aware of equality at an early age.
The most significant technological development to hit the Middle East is the digitization of the economy.
While looking for a job, you may have come across the perfect one but felt restricted due to infrastructural and geographical challenges. Digitization will eliminate such issues.
Digitization has been a hot topic for a while. This is because several companies choose to adopt technology to make use of automation to make better business decisions. Digitization of the workspace will encourage women to take advantage of remote-working opportunities. So, you will be able to work from home with ease.
By leveraging technology, many organizations have also come up with digital platforms to make the job hunt easier. For instance, Bayt.com lists 80,000+ active jobs that are open for all genders, and women are encouraged to apply.
In this current wave of digitization, you will see a huge demand for job seekers with technological skills. You can potentially benefit from the new opportunities that arise out of increased digital business automation.
However, this only happens if organizations and government authorities digitize women's skills in the Middle East. Women have generally preferred working fields related to arts and education. This results in an insufficient proportion of women getting integrated into the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields.
That is why appropriate authorities are looking to officially introduce cyber literacy for upskilling or re-skilling of working women and job seekers. In the next few years, you will find that such training is the next big thing that will help you in getting technical jobs.
The objective here is not just to encourage more women to participate in the labour force. Rather, it is about giving you the opportunities to participate in professional and technical jobs of the future.
The key to removing the inequality that women face in the workplace today is to introduce legal protection. Countries in the Middle East have learned from the example of the UAE.
Soon, policies will be made for an enhanced legal framework. Such frameworks will protect your rights as a woman in a working environment.
This will require governments to research factors that encourage and discourage your entry into the workforce. The data will allow them to create accurate public policies for generous maternity leaves, flexible work-life balance, and gender-neutral budgeting.
Safe to say, strides have been made by the proactive attitude of the people in the Middle East region. However, you must continue to do your part in continuing the conversations about working women and equality.
As a part of the working force, you can affect change by educating the younger generation about gender equality. As for your own growth, take advantage of the different skills training programs. The education you get will empower you to boldly take action and get the job you are looking for.
Choose to challenge. Call out gender bias when you see it. Seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Let’s create an inclusive world.
