WUNRN
MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA -
WELL-EDUCATED WOMEN NEED EMPLOYMENT PROGRESS
Nazneen Akbari / 23 July 2013
Is the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region
equipped to handle a new culture of burgeoning women workforce?
Large influxes of a new ‘culture’ of women have sprung, in recent tears. These women are educated, inspired by their bold womenfolk during the recent and current uprisings, they are increasingly syncing with social media and a majority are affluent potential investors. The latter are the GCC women who account for 20.2 per cent of the GCC’s wealth, a figure that is expected to grow by 15 pe rcent in the next 10 years.
However, employment amongst these women hovers at just 25 per cent, compared with 50 per cent worldwide. Astonishing, is the high rate of public expenditure on education in the region which tops global average by 4.4 per cent. This has created a generation of educated women, that Mena countries have wisely invested in, but are not utilising them to contribute growth.
Deputy managing director of the IMF Dr Nemat Shafiq confirmed that despite admirable increases in education, employment in Mena was at a low of 18 per cent in 1990 but, has risen only by three percent since then, making it a 21 per cent in 2010.
Speaking at the fifth annual Women In Leadership Forum, in Dubai recently, she highlighted the huge variations across countries in the Mena. “Women employment is high in Qatar, Kuwait and UAE but incredibly low in Iraq, Algeria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia”. Egypt was the worst performer, with women employment level dropping from 25 per cent to 22 per cent, in recent.
In contrast, levels in UAE rose to 59 per cent in 2012, 42.5 per cent in Kuwait and 36.4 per cent in Qatar, according to Booz & Company, a global consulting firm.
“Cultural factors and massive ignorance about women’s position in Islam are impediments to employment”, said Saudi Princess Reem Mohammad Al Faisal Al Saud, during an interview with Naseba, organiser of the annual WIL forum.
“As the Muslim world became poorer and ignorant, they also became ignorant of their own history, their own religion and therefore women suffered” says the granddaughter of late King Faisal, while citing women icons in early Islam.
“Our benchmark country is Malaysia” says the Chairperson of Sharjah Business Women Council, Ameera bin Karam.
“It is the most progressive environment and we totally relate to them as a country that relates to ours. Not so much in our culture but our religion. With the same limitations, same challenges, same education levels, same mindsets, Malaysian women due to the support of the government and the private sector have advanced significantly.”
A similar approach of broadening opportunities within the private sector of the Mena region is required.
“45 per cent of employment is in the public sector, that ranges from a low of 10 percent in Morocco to as high as 80 percent in GCC”, said the IMF official. “In 2012, the economies of oil exporting countries grew by six percent, as oil prices soared, however, 2013 is predicted to be a year of decline”.
GCC women’s high worth net market is currently $224 billion and if given the right opportunities, these potential investors can add enormous value to the private sectors of their country.
Paramount is the direct and indirect influence of the current uprisings on this mobilising workforce. Armed with internet access and social media, they are politically and legally conscious of their environment, than ever before. The Arab Social Media Report heralds women as the ‘main drivers for regional change’, with their social media use far more focused on networking, accessing information, looking for work and activism.
Despite this momentum, international media is often criticised for creating negative perceptions about Arab women. Diffusing such remarks, BBC’s presenter for Middle East Report, Nima Al Wardeh, says “If a woman is truly empowered she will do what she truly wants to do within her parameters. If countries and people want to deal with what media is saying about certain issues, they need to fix those issues.”