Dubai The working environment in the UAE should be made more flexible to ensure more women can hold leadership positions, according to female finance professionals at a recent round table discussion.
The session, facilitated by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, noted that although anecdotal evidence points towards women outperforming their male counterparts in terms of qualifications, lifestyle expectations and family commitments often hinder their climb up the corporate ladder.
"In the UAE we have a significant talent pool to draw upon," said Helen Brand, Global CEO of the ACCA.
"The issue we face, however, is that a large percentage of this talent is not participating in the workforce at a leadership level."
Twenty per cent of ACCA qualified senior financial professionals are women. The career ‘glass ceiling' tends to kick in at the middle to senior management level.
Recognising value
"At the heart of the debate is the need to recognise the value of the profession, and those individuals who have worked hard to earn their qualifications," said Brand.
A number of panellists called for flexible working arrangements that allow women to continue working after having children.
"At Ernst and Young we have taken an active approach to supporting diversity and inclusion within our teams in the region," said Ginnie Carlier, a partner at Ernst and Young.
"By developing and improving our maternity leave policy and flexible working arrangements, we have been able to retain talent."
Apart from improving gender diversification in the workplace, the ACCA also wants to bring more UAE nationals into the finance profession.
ACCA currently has 157 Emiratis studying for qualifications in the UAE and abroad, and is working with a number of local organisations to highlight the opportunities for them in the accounting and finance sectors.
