Women ready to take on challenges at work

As women across the globe pause today to reflect on how much they have achieved in business and the workplace since an exceptional 2020, one of the biggest challenges that remains and needs to be addressed is the chasm in opportunities.

An ‘entitlement gap’ between men and women in the UAE — a feeling of not being as deserving as men when it comes to pay rises, promotions and career progression — remains a hurdle, reveals new research commissioned by LinkedIn. The entitlement gap was first proposed by the Women at Work report by The Female Lead, a UK-based educational charity.

Covid-stricken 2020 has set the stage for a 2021 with known and unknown challenges. Today, International Women’s Day celebrates ‘ChooseToChallenge’, and women in business proved their resilience in 2020, aspiring for a brighter 2021 in the UAE. The nation has witnessed a massive shift towards development and growth for women from all the sectors, who have displayed exemplary talent in handling businesses, families and boardrooms too.

The Covid-19 outbreak certainly posed challenges globally and the UAE was not an exception to it. However, timely intervention from government authorities helped women to strike a balance as ‘work from home’ has become the new normal.

“There is no denying that the UAE is very much at the forefront of female participation across key sectors, empowering women to be change-makers across the economy. Companies are placing great value on diversity and equality, recognising and promoting talented and capable women within their organisations,” said Hana Al Rostamani, group CEO of First Abu Dhabi Bank.

“Through embracing diversity, we can carry this lesson forward, guiding innovation and building businesses that empower colleagues, customers and communities for sustainable growth and continued success.”

The UAE’s policies too have encouraged women to unlock their entrepreneurial skills and set goals that allow them to carry the mantle of progress globally.

“Globally, the pandemic has been regressive for gender equality in the workforce, which would require significant attention after the pandemic gets over. As per McKinsey, if we act to strengthen gender equality, we could add $13 trillion to global GDP by 2030,” Alisha Moopen, deputy managing director of Aster DM Healthcare, said.

“However, research suggests that in countries where women lead, the responses have been quicker, more effective and stronger. This has proven to be true in the UAE where gender balance forms a top priority in the government and reflects in major leadership roles being held by women. From leading the Hope probe to Mars to successfully positioning the country as a leader on the global stage through Expo 2021 during one of the most difficult times in history, the women leaders of UAE have shined through.”

The LinkedIn research not only supports the findings of the Women at Work report but shows the way women have been socially conditioned to feel less entitled than men.

In the UAE both women (65 per cent) and men (63 per cent) surveyed almost equally agree that there are certain scenarios within the workplace where women feel less entitled than men. The gap is felt greater in professions such as media, communications and marketing (77 per cent), while the perception of women feeling less entitled than men is higher among directors (70 per cent) compared to manual skilled workers (54 per cent).

The pandemic has impacted everyone’s lives, but more than half (52 per cent) of the working women polled agree that the ‘new normal’ has resulted in them taking on even more responsibilities than their partner at home. “Creating a culture of equality must be at the top of any business agenda. This is well understood in the UAE, which leads the region in working women, policy, government, and culture,” Ebru Tuygun, marketing and communications lead at Accenture, Middle East, said.

“We believe that gender equality is essential for a high-performing and innovation-oriented organisation. We encourage women to go beyond boundaries, men to support women as allies and listen to them intentionally when they speak up. We all together need to act now to accelerate equality.”

Many companies in the UAE are implementing counter-measures to address challenges and issues, which stemmed due to the outbreak of Covid-19. Half of the working professionals surveyed said their company has implemented family-friendly workplace policies, including flexible working to support women, while nearly half also said their company has training and targets for managers to ensure that gender-equality policies are properly enforced to support women in the workplace.Moreover, 40 per cent of working professionals surveyed said their company has coaching, mentoring, and training programmes to support women in the workplace, while 33 per cent said their company has a generous maternity package.

Women always have the ability to adjust to the male-dominated culture and a capability to play a main role in the workplace to reach the success, added Maryam AlMulla, utilities strategic account manager for Dubai and the Northern Emirates at Hitachi ABB Power Grids.

“Coming to inspiring and leading the business, we can grow our own comfort zone for our beliefs and rights in gender equality by utilising strengths and leadership qualities. Women can be more resilient in way of leading with skill, knowledge, experience and emotion,” she said.

“We will not wait for the challenge to come to us; we can take a risk and create a challenge to run the business, target opportunities and leading the team with a bright mindset.”

— sandhya@khaleejtimes.com