Today, more than half (52%) of female respondents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia report that women in their country have reached the same level of workplace equality as compared to working women in western countries, according to the Working Women in the Middle East and North Africa survey released by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s number one job site, and YouGov, a leading market research agency.
This survey measures the perceptions of women in the region when it comes to equality at work, motivations for employment, challenges faced at work, as well as career and life ambitions. The survey revealed that more than one third (35%) of respondents in KSA feel that job offers are based on experience and qualifications and gender plays no role in the decision. In fact, nearly half (46%) of female respondents have never been asked questions that made them feel discriminated against as women during a job interview.
When it comes to being employed in KSA, more than nine in ten (96%) respondents stated that they have some familiarity with the labor laws of their country of residence, with more than half (52%) claiming to be very familiar. Of those familiar with the labor laws, two thirds (65%) stated that they are fair to women, at least to some extent.
Challenges faced by women in the workplace
The top three challenges that women in the region face in their work environment are less opportunity for job promotions (51%), stressful and demanding work environment (39%), and a lack of sufficient job training and coaching (35%).
In KSA,31% of respondents believe that their future marriage plans will affect their career to some extent. Similarly, across the region, one third (33%) of respondents believe that their marital life has been affected positively by their career choices.
“Women are fundamental players in building and shaping the region’s economies and contributing to the success of every business. The survey results show a very positive direction towards gender balance in the region, particularly when it comes to opportunities for promotion,” explains Suha Mardelli Haroun, Regional Sales Director at Bayt.com. “At Bayt.com, we are very proud of our equal opportunity practices. Women are employed at Bayt.com across all roles and departments, including technology, marketing, human resources, finance, sales, and leadership.. Our top management and executive board has a healthy gender ratio as well. In fact, women occupy a remarkable number of management positions in Bayt.com. Among the positions occupied by women are: Chief Marketing Officer; Regional HR Director; Regional Business Development Director; Head of Ad Sales; International Unit Manager; Senior Technical Consultant; and many more. Our disciplined system of regular monthly, quarterly and annual appraisals is designed to give equal weighting to value adherence as to actual performance. This ensures that there is always place for great people, regardless of their gender, to climb up the ladder at Bayt.com.”
Benefits for women in the workplace
According to respondents in the MENA, the top five drivers of happiness in their life are having a successful career (50%), maintaining good health (43%), traveling and visiting other countries (37%), spending time with their family (31%), and making money (29%). The top three reasons women seek employment in the MENA region are to become financially independent (57%), to broaden their perspectives on life (50%), and to be able to support their household (49%).
The top three benefits most important for working women in the region are a higher salary (57%), opportunities for long-term career growth (34%), and flexible hours (30%); and in KSA, one quarter (24%) of women claim that their employer provides some level of special benefits for women employees.
“The opinions gauged by this survey provide an important outlook into the provisions and services employers currently offer their employees in the workplace – while also considering gender balance as a whole. Moreover, this survey also delves into what employers could be doing to further improve the workplace for their female employees – especially those that balance their work with a family,” said Arleen Gonsalves, Associate Research Manager, YouGov.
Data for the “Working Women in the Middle East and North Africa” survey was collected online from November6 to22,2016, with888 female respondents living in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.