‘The Bayt.com Status of Working Women in the Middle East’ survey, recently conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s leading career site, and YouGov, a research and consulting organization, has revealed that while50% of women working in mixed gender workplaces in the UAE consider recruitment and selection opportunities to be made regardless of gender,39% believe that women are treated less favourably in terms of salary – which is unsatisfactory to the50% of women who work to become financially independent.
Reasons for Working
Women in the MENA region mostly seek employment in order to be more financially independent (48%) and in order to support or financially contribute to their household (46%). For45% of respondents, taking a job is a means to broaden their perspectives on life.
In the UAE, being able to contribute financially to their household is the top reason for women to seek employment, as stated by57% of respondents. This is followed by the desire to become financially independent (50%), and to secure their family or children’s future (47%).
Employment and Years in the Workplace
Almost three quarters (72%) of MENA respondents state that they are employed in a mixed gender workplace, and most respondents have1-2 years (17%) of work experience in total.15% have3-4 years of experience, and13% have5-6 years of experience. Most women (96%) in the UAE have10 years or less work experience.
Across the region, most respondents state that they work in private multinationals (22%) and private small-medium local companies (21%), followed by large local private sector companies and the public or government sector (16% each). The private sector is the main source of employment for respondents in the UAE, with31% employed by multinationals,21% hired by small or medium local companies, and13% working with large local companies.
MENA-wide, most women (22%) are relatively new to their current industry, having spent1-2 years in it. This is no different in the UAE, where24% of women claim the same, with20% having spent3-4 years in their current industry.53% of women across MENA have spent2 years or less in their current company, analogously as in the UAE (56%).
Gender Equality
Two in five women who work in a mixed gender workplace are ‘extremely’ comfortable working in mixed-gender environments, with a further31% who claim they are comfortable ‘to some extent’. Close to half (48%) of women working in mixed gender workplaces in the UAE are ‘extremely’ comfortable in working in a mixed environment, with32% who are comfortable to do so to some extent.77% of respondents from the UAE claim that their current workplace has men and women working together.
Women working in a mixed gender environment around the MENA region mostly report to a male manager (77%), and have more men than women in their workplace (58%). Two thirds (66%) claim to have no preference regarding the gender of their manager. In the UAE,75% of women report to a male manager, and65% claim to have more men than women in their workplace, while73% have no preference for reporting to a man or a woman.
Discrimination around the region is considered to be one of the challenges in the work environment by the23% of the respondents.55% stated that they were not asked any discriminatory questions during job interviews (such as ‘are you planning to get married?’ or ‘are you planning to have children?’) and54% of respondents working in a mixed gender environment cannot think of any situation in their workplace where they were either favoured or discriminated against because of their gender.
Most respondents working in mixed gender environments in the MENA region consider men and women to be treated equally when considering the number of working hours (65%), training and development (60%),advice and support (54%) and recruitment and selection (51%). More concern for equality is present when it comes to benefits (49% state equal treatment,27% state women are treated less favourably), salary (46% state equal treatment,31% state women are treated less favourably), and career progression (42% state equal treatment,33% state women are treated less favourably).
Women in the UAE consider that they are treated equally in terms of working hours (69%), training and development (59%) and recruitment and selection (50%). However, they are split when it comes to career progression (38% state equal treatment, while38% consider women to be treated less favourably). On a negative note, they believe women are treated less favourably in terms of salary (39%).
Salary and Promotions
The majority of women in the MENA region fall into the US$200-2,000 income per month range (60%),21% of whom earn between US$200-500 per month. In the UAE, the share of respondents in the US$200-2,000 bracket falls to52%,24% having an income between US$2001-4000. There is a regional sentiment that men receive more pay than women (43%), which is echoed by52% of UAE respondents.
Nearly half (49%) of women working in mixed gender environments around the region believe that their chances of being promoted depend entirely on their performance, and not on gender, though34% believe that women have a lower chance of getting promoted than men do. The same applies to the UAE, with49% claiming the former, and37% stating the latter to be true.
Hiring and Appreciation at Work
In terms of treatment,51% of respondents working in mixed gender environments believe that men and women are treated equally in their workplace, though59% state that some employees get preferential or better treatment than others. In the UAE:61% think that some employees in their workplace are better treated than others, but49% agree that men and women are treated equally.
In terms of appreciation, the majority (61%) of MENA women working in mixed gender workplaces believe that recognition and rewards are handed out based on performance, and regardless of gender. Nevertheless,22% believe that men get more appreciation than women employees.
Similarly,56% of respondents around the region state that job offers are made based on experience and qualifications, with gender playing no role.63% of women in the UAE believe this to be the case.
Equality Compared to Western Countries
The majority of women around the region (45%) believe that working women in their country have, to some extent, reached the same level of workplace equality as women in Western countries, while22% believe this to be the case to a large extent.
UAE thinking is in line with this, as a total of71% agree that equality is on par, either to some (48%) or a large extent (23%), with Western workplaces. Despite that sentiment, women in the UAE believe that the challenges they face in the workplace are less opportunity for job promotions (55%); a stressful and demanding work environment (53%), and a lack or insufficiency of job training and coaching (40%). Their top three reasons for wanting to change jobs are better salary (71%), better benefits (excluding salary) (42%), and more opportunities for career advancement (28%).
Top Benefits
The most common company benefits enjoyed by women in the UAE are personal health insurance (55%), housing allowance (41%) and company transport or transport allowance (40%).67% of women working in mixed gender environments in the UAE state that there are no special benefits offered to women by their current employer. though21% claim their employer offers some special benefits to women employees.
UAE working women claim that their top three benefits are higher salary (63%), opportunities for long-term career growth (42%), flexible hours (26%) and health insurance for the whole family (25%).
When it comes to maternity leave,26% of women in the MENA state that they have between2-3 months leave.24% of them receive1-2 months. In the UAE, a third of women receive1-2 months of maternity leave, while17% only receive up to1 month off. Satisfaction with maternity leave is generally low across the region;36% of UAE women respondents claim low satisfaction, with30% stating neutral feelings.
Close to half (47%) of the respondents say that their company offers no paternity leave for new fathers, with34% of UAE respondents claiming the same.
Challenges and Happiness
Regionally, MENA women find it hard to find good job opportunities (as stated by60%). They also consider a lack of opportunities to improve their professional skills (46%) and not having enough opportunities to relax or socialise (38%) to be challenges in their life. It’s also considered hard to lead a healthy lifestyle (32%), and many women (30%) do not feel connected enough within their industry.
Similarly, the top three challenges for women in the UAE are struggling to find good job opportunities (65%); lacking opportunities to improve their professional skills (46%), and not having enough opportunities to relax or socialise (41%).
pWorking women in MENA consider their main sources of happiness to be having a successful career (55%); spending time with their family (32%); and making money (30%). In the UAE, having a successful career (57%) is the top source of happiness, followed by spending time with family (42%), and good personal health (34%).
Work, Marriage and Children
When asked how their career choices have affected their marital life,35% of married respondents in the MENA region stated it has had no effect at all, versus33% who claim it has had a positive effect. Women in the UAE believe their career choices have had a positive effect on their marital life (37%), compared to30% who state it has had no effect, and22% who believe it has had a negative effect.
Future marriage plans are seen by35% of MENA women to have an effect to some extent on career choices, though30% state they have no affect at all.39% of women in the UAE believe future marriage plans will have an effect to some extent on their career choices, whereas35% believe they will have no effect at all.
Two in five women with children in MENA claim that their decision to have children has had no effect on their career, though31% believe their choice has affected their working life to some extent. For22% of women, it has affected their career to a large extent. In the UAE,37% of women state having children has had no effect on their career, compared to29% who believe it has affected their career to some extent, and26% who claim it has had a large affect.
Labour Laws
Across MENA,43% of women claim to be very familiar with labour laws, with48% stating they are ‘slightly familiar’ with them. Amongst those who are familiar,53% say they are fair to some extent, while21% believe they are fair to a large extent.54% of working women in the UAE are slightly familiar with local labour laws, while35% are very familiar;38% consider them to be fair to some extent, while33% believe they are fair to a large extent.
The majority (87%) of women participating in this survey work30 or more hours per week. More than half (53%) are single;27% are married with children (43% have two children;33% have one child), and12% are married without children. Across the MENA region,41% of respondents have one other person earning a salary in their household;49% of these women state that the main contribution to their household comes from a man.
Suha Mardelli Haroun, HR Director and Regional Sales Manager, Bayt.com, said: “There are clearly mixed sentiments across the MENA region with regards to women’s opinions of equality in the workplace. Women feel treated equally competent to men across many skill-sets and continues to be narrowing quickly. Employers should take advantage of this skill level to enlarge the talent pool, and perhaps take it as an opportunity to recalibrate on elements such as salary, benefits and advancement opportunities. The fact that these improve the gender equality gap and workplace engagement will go towards positive alignment in levelling out the playing field for all employees.”
Emilene Parry, Senior Research Executive, YouGov, said: “It is encouraging to see that many women in the MENA region believe their country of residence provides the same level of gender equality as many Western countries. As the majority of working respondents in the region put ‘having a successful career’ among their top three sources of happiness, companies should look for ways to appeal to today’s career-oriented women.”
Data for ‘The Bayt.com Status of Working Women in the Middle East’ survey was collected online from October22-November202014, with1,543 female respondents aged18 years and above. Respondents were from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.