Dubai: Around 29 per cent of expat women in the UAE say they face sexism in the workplace, with 43 per cent knowing friends who also faced it, according to a survey by an online expat forum.
The study of 1,100 women conducted by ExpatWoman.com said the number of respondents who encounter sexism in the workplace in the UAE almost doubles compared to back home - although 63 per cent have not experienced any sexism at all.
harassment
On the issue of personal harassment or abuse, 81 per cent of respondents said they did not face any personal harassment or abuse at all, while 13 per cent claimed they have been subjected to personal harassment and abuse at work. Another 29 per cent said they knew friends who had similar experiences. Again, these numbers almost double when compared to their home countries.
Significantly, however, the survey said the majority of women did not think their career opportunities in the UAE had been limited by being female. While 53 per cent said “not at all”, 21 per cent said it had “to some extent”.
In an overview of the ‘UAE factor’, the ExpatWoman.com white paper said: “Although the Middle East has associations with male dominance in society, the facts are oddly counter-intuitive. The UAE recently ranked first in a global survey of female educational achievement with the highest female enrolment in higher education. The global social progress index, an initiative by the World Economic Forum, ranks the UAE as number one in the world for treating women with respect.
Over 38 per cent of respondents felt there was a balance of male and female senior management in their companies, but 20 per cent identified their companies as having no female senior management. When asked why, 61 per cent cited lack of opportunities for women at that level.
Overall, however, the survey established that 48 per cent of women felt moving to the UAE had actually helped them explore their talents in new ways, with 61 per cent saying they earn more in the UAE than back home.
A good 39 per cent said they had found more career opportunities in the UAE than in their home countries, while 51 per cent claimed they had started a new career after moving to the UAE.
Over 58 per cent of the respondents were in the UAE for over five years, with 46 per cent in full-time employment, 7.6 per cent in part-time jobs and 7.3 per cent self-employed.
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