MENA: Women's workplace equality highest in the UAE

What did they find?

1. Women in the UAE seem to be more content with gender balance. Three quarters (75 per cent) of respondents say that there is a mix of men and women working in the same workplace. In the UAE, this figure is almost 10 percent higher than the regional average at 84 per cent.
2. In the UAE, seven in ten (70 per cent) respondents report that they work almost an equal number of hours as their male colleagues, 6 per cent believe they work less hours than their male counterparts, and only 16 per cent said they work more hours. 
3. As for women-specific benefits in the workplace, the top five benefits respondents receive from their organizations are personal health insurance (47 per cent), paid maternity leave (40 per cent), company transport/transport allowance (34 per cent), job-related training (32 per cent), and family health insurance (23 per cent).
4. Regionally, more than two thirds (69 per cent) of women say their organization gives them at least one month of official maternity leave. 5 per cent said their maternity leave is less than one month and only 9 per cent said they don’t have an official policy maternity leave. 19 per cent of respondents did not know what the policy is.
5. The top three challenges cited by MENA women in their workplace are less opportunity for job promotions (44 per cent), a stressful and demanding work environment (37 per cent), and a lack of or insufficient job training and coaching (30 per cent).
6. Outside of the workplace, when asked about the key challenges in their life, finding good job opportunities (57 per cent), lack of opportunities to improve their professional skills (41 per cent), and not having enough opportunities to relax or socialize (36 per cent) emerged as top three challenges for women in the MENA.
7. Women’s happiness in the region is largely career-oriented, with having a successful career (49 per cent) emerging as the top driver of happiness. This was followed by good health (42 per cent), traveling and visiting other countries (36 per cent), spending time with their families (34 per cent), and making money (29 per cent).
8. Moreover, women in the MENA cite financial independence (59 per cent), the ability to support/financially contribute to their households (50 per cent), the opportunity to broaden their perspectives on life (46 per cent), making use of their education (42 per cent), and securing their family and children’s futures (40 per cent) as their top five reasons for seeking employment.
9. In the MENA, more than half (54 per cent) of respondents with children stated that their decision to have children has affected their career, at least to some extent, while 41 per cent said it didn’t affect it at all.
10. Further, over half (52 per cent) of those surveyed believe their future marriage plans would affect their career choices, at least to some extent, while 29 per cent said it wouldn’t affect it at all and 19 per cent didn’t know.