Dubai: Private sector employers have been urged to improve gender diversity and encourage the integration of women in the workplace.
Speaking to Gulf News, Sophie Le Ray, chief executive officer of Naseba, said the UAE government had been pushing to improve the integration of women by setting quotas for public sector entities.
“It is time for the private sector to do more to help women to be involved in the market, as well as to accommodate them and enable them to make that balance between [their] personal and professional lives,” she said.
Ray, who was speaking on the sidelines of a press conference to announce the launch of the 17th edition of the Global Women in Leadership (WIL) Economic Forum, called on private sector firms to encourage telecommuting by embracing technology allowing women to work from home.
The forum, which will hold on November 2-3 in Abu Dhabi, will look at diversity and inclusion, the role of women in shaping the technologies of the future, female entrepreneurship, the championing of gender diversity and best practices from prominent leaders in the public and private sectors.
“Currently the number of female graduates in the UAE is the same as the number of male graduates,” she said. “What is required is to find an ideal strategy to integrate them in the workforce.”
She attributed the lack of gender diversification in the workforce to education and culture.
“The image of women as housewives only has to change and is improving gradually. Women can play an essential role in social and economic sustainable development through female entrepreneurship, expanding investment and trade opportunities for businesswomen and by creating a culture that embraces diversity and inclusion to enhance the competitive spirit,” she said.
Farah Al Qaissieh, founder of Xenia, is an Emirati entrepreneur who will be participating in the forum to inspire other Emirati women that they can actively exist in the workplace.
“Definitely we can do it. But what we are looking for is not woman empowerment but gender equality,” she said.
Moritz Hartmann, General Manager, Roche Middle East, also said that women believe in their ability to overcome the gap.
“Gender diversity is an opportunity to unlock the strong potential that women possess. This can lead to a much better balance in key positions and ultimately a better organisational culture,” Hartmann said.
