Dubai: A happy childhood and a liberal upbringing have been the guiding influences in Badreya Al Dashti’s life.
“I was born in a house located on Al Fahidi Street in Bur Dubai to a father who was a trader [he owned a shop in Al Khor area of Deira] and a housewife mother, who took care of all of us,” said Al Dashti, who is head of Public Sector and Contracting, Corporate Banking, Noor Bank, Dubai. “I have four sisters and two brothers. It was a happy childhood and we had regular family gatherings. It was a liberal environment: girls and boys were treated as equal.
“My father was not highly qualified; he was able to only read and write. My mother was unlettered. Both my parents were however certain about one thing: All their children should be highly educated and have established careers. My father said, ‘There is nothing [such] as luck; education is key’.”
After school, Al Dashti enrolled for a bachelor’s degree in architecture at UAE University in Al Ain. “As a young girl, I always wanted to be an engineer. It was also about how I could add value to my country. This was the primary reason to pursue a degree in architecture. University was hard work and enjoyable too.”
After graduation, she opted to work for a well-known private company. “I worked on the layout of the Ikea store at Festival City and am proud to have been associated with the designing.”
Soon, she was wondering what next and a close friend told her about a recruiting agency that was looking to hire graduates for a UAE bank. “I was not sure because I had no degree in finance or banking.” But she went ahead for the interview and landed the job.
“[Today] I am a part of corporate banking team and handle the needs of the public sector and large corporations,” Al Dashti said.
In between, she also completed a MBA from Cass Business School. “The degree helped a lot, in how I looked at business situations and opportunities.”
Her shift from engineering to finance, she believes is a challenge [that] should be looked as an opportunity. “I was confident that — as my father always advised that hard work pays — if I put my mind and heart to the new field, I will succeed.
“We are all grateful to our founding fathers and all our past and current leaders for showing the world that women of the UAE are equal partners in building our great country and for making it easier for girls and women to achieve their dreams.”
For Al Dashti, Emirati identity is “an amalgamation of UAE’s rich history, its deep rooted culture, its economic strengths and ingenuities [in the realm of ingenuity, I would put the Dubai Creek as one of the greatest examples that made Dubai what it is today and I can go on and on] and, perhaps most importantly, the social and familial bonds that make us strong as a nation and society. Emirati identity has always been there. In fact, I believe the Emirati identity is a good mix of tradition and modernity.
“I feel proud of where we were and where we are today. As an Emirati woman who has achieved substantial success in my field, I believe anything is possible in today’s UAE.”
Core values
“To give back to my country and to our leaders. They have made us an integral part of the vision and allow us to take it forward together. I do what I do without asking for a payback. I do it from the bottom of my heart. Whatever I do has to be perfect. It’s a tall order, I know. It’s subjective. Today I lead a team of nine. In pursuing my work with my team in a way that attains perfection, I will also be the first one to admit to mistakes. You will do mistakes if you work — if you don’t that means you are not working.”
UAE women, she believes, are making significant strides in various spheres, though “I believe business in general is still a man’s world despite the glass ceiling being broken.
Milestones
The [UAE] milestone she is singularly proud of is the achievement of women in education.
“That’s been made possible only because of our great leaders — past and present — as well our parents who have had the vision of making quality learning — both in schools and colleges/universities accessible to all Emiratis.”
