This article was published in cooperation with the recruitment website Bayt.com
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Are men and women fairly treated in the UAE labor market? What are the most important challenges that women face in their work environment? What about the main factors that influence women’s decision to accept a job?
A combination of economic and social factors contributed to changing the position of women in the labor market, as their economic contributions became increasingly important within the family.
Therefore, a survey entitled “Working Women in the Middle East and North Africa” was recently conducted to understand the opinions, feelings and aspirations of women. The questionnaire revealed that financial independence (55%) is the main factor for women entering the labor market in the Middle East.
51% of the respondents said that they seek work to support the family or contribute to enhancing their income, while 43% of them said that the main motivation for work is to broaden their horizons in life, while 42% of the respondents stated that their goal is to secure the future of the family and children.
The results of the survey showed that the vast majority of respondents in the UAE (83%) work in a mixed setting. 73% of women said they feel comfortable working in a mixed environment, 51% said they feel very comfortable about it, and only 4% said they would prefer to work in a non-mixed environment in the UAE.
Gender equality in the workplace
Businesses in the region recognize that gender equality is an important factor in improving the work environment. Overall, the majority of respondents believe that women and men are treated equally in their workplace across a variety of areas, most notably career progression (67%), recruitment and hiring (63%), and benefits offered (55%).
In line with the general sense of equality in the workplace, the majority of respondents in the UAE (59%) reported that they work the same number of hours as their male colleagues, while 31% stated that they work longer hours compared to their male colleagues.
Advantages offered to working women
Regarding benefits for women in the workplace, the top 5 benefits that respondents receive in the MENA region included personal health insurance (39%), paid maternity leave (38%), work-related training (31%), and transportation allowance (30%). ), And family health insurance (24%). Most of the women also stated that they take official maternity leave that ranges from one to three months.
The factors that enhance a woman’s sense of happiness
The survey results revealed some concrete facts about the progress made in the level of empowerment of women in the region. About half of the respondents (49%) considered establishing a successful career as a major source of happiness for them, followed by good health (49%), earning money (33%) and spending time with family (32%).
As for the most important job attributes for women, the majority of respondents (57%) chose a good salary as the most important benefit, followed by long-term career growth opportunities (37%) and health insurance for all family members (28%). Lack of travel opportunities and non-mixed work environments appeared to be the least important to them.
34% of women respondents indicated that their career choices had a positive effect on their marital life, while 38% said that they had no effect. On the other hand, 47% of those surveyed believe that their future marriage plans will affect their career options at least to some extent, while 31% believe that these plans will not affect their career choices.
