WOMEN-UAE: Workforce on the increase with rising education levels

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Att.Editors: The following item is by the United Arab Emirates news agency (WAM)

ABU DHABI, Mar 8 2003 (IPS) - Higher literacy levels among United Arab Emirates (UAE) women have meant that the number of women in the workforce and business arena in the country has increased considerably.

This development has been facilitated by the strong incentives offered by the government for women’s education and the innovative new policies being implemented to enhance women’s role in public life, according to a press release issued today.

Literacy among the UAE women has risen sharply from the 1980 figure of just 22.4 percent to more than 88.7 percent in 1995. The last decade has continued to witness increasing growth in the literacy rates among UAE women, as evidenced by the growing number of women in universities.

According to official figures, women make up over 72 percent of university students in the country, with many of them opting for the information technology and engineering disciplines.

"Women in the UAE have enthusiastically embraced the educational opportunities provided to them in recent years. This has been evident in the school leaving certificate examination results since 1999 where female students outshine their male counterparts. The presence of so many women in colleges and universities also signals the emergence of the UAE as an advanced country where women have equal opportunity to excel at the workplace," said Dr. Nadia Buhannad, Assistant Professor at UAE University and Managing Director of Sikologia Consulting, who will be overseeing the assessment and selection of the winners of UAE’s first major award for businesswomen achievers.

"This is a dramatic development, particularly when viewed against the fact that the UAE is relatively a late entrant into the field of women’s education. We are sure that there will be greater advancements in the near future as women bring their specialized expertise and creative influence into the workplace."

The increasing numbers of educated women has had repercussions in the employment market, the most obvious being that women are demanding and obtaining jobs. In fact, in the UAE, women are spread across the entire civil service and now account for around 40 percent of the total number of employees.

Recent years have seen UAE women entering into fields that were conventionally considered male territory. Official reports show that women are now running businesses in trade & maintenance, financial brokerage, real estate & rental, manufacturing & industries, restaurants & hotels and construction. This is in sharp contrast to the scenario a few years ago when women were found mainly in teaching and medicine.

"Higher education has empowered women to aspire for responsible positions or launch business ventures in diverse fields. Women with determination and a will to succeed have done remarkably well to achieve new heights of success and provided role models for others," said Dr. Buhannad.

"The achievements of exceptional women need to be highlighted and these successful women should be recognized. Shell in conjunction with Dubai Quality Group has started the first move in this direction by instituting the Emirates Businesswomen Award which will be awarded for the first time in April 2003."

"It has been an amazing transformation for UAE women in a matter of just a few years," said Hussain Al Mahmoudi, Manager External Affairs, Shell Companies in Dubai and Northern Emirates, which is sponsoring the award.

"Considering that the first university was set up in 1977, the news that women currently outnumber men at college and university levels holds great promise for UAE women. Shell is proud to be associated with the Emirates Businesswomen Award, as it will be the first such initiative to recognize and reward the exceptional business acumen and managerial excellence of UAE businesswomen."

The Emirates Businesswomen Award will be given away in two categories, open to business owners as well as professionals. The categories are Business Owners/Investors and Professionals. The award is open to local women as well as expatriates. The deadline for submitting entries closed February 28, 2003.