A Businesswoman's Boomtown In Dubai

Even though they are shrouded in abayas, a conference in the Middle East reveals just how many women are ready to move up to the top.

This was no Wall Street or City of London crowd. That was my first thought as I looked around the audience at the second Arab Women's Leadership Forum, held in Dubai last month. Instead of the Armani-clad executives that you would find at a women's leadership event in New York or London, these women were shrouded in black abayas, many with their heads covered with shailas (head scarves). Instead of the in-your-face confidence I had grown to expect at high-powered women's conventions, these participants clustered together, shy and silent, like graceful but elusive shadows. Products of a different culture, I reckoned they probably had different values and different goals.

I could not have been more wrong. Three days and dozens of conversations later, I was chastened and deeply impressed.

Far from being trapped in tradition, the Forum--spearheaded by the Dubai Women's Establishment, a government agency, and sponsored by a broad range of private companies--sought to accelerate the pace of Arab women's inclusion in the workplace. Keynote speakers included Selma Aliye Kavaf, Turkey's Minister for Women and Family Affairs, and Aseel Al-Awadhi, member of Parliament for Kuwait. The sessions centered on how to update antiquated and inflexible work structures to better integrate women and allow them to progress to top jobs.

As for the turnout, it was an eye-opening 600 women drawn from the senior ranks of governments, NGOs and private firms not just in the United Arab Emirates but all across the Middle East.

For me, it was a heady experience with some unexpected takeaways.

First off, I learned that an unofficial goal of the conference was to re-position female Emirati and other Gulf-state women as serious players in the world of work. In the words of May Al Dabbagh, director of the Gender and Public Policy Program at the Dubai School of Government, many work environments are fraught with stereotypes about Arab women, both in Dubai and elsewhere. "Women are incorrectly perceived as not serious about building their careers," she told me. "The work they do is viewed as an interim step before leaving to get married or have children. This shortchanges the commitment and clout of this group."

Second, I picked up rumblings of discontent about the kick-off session, which was centered on childcare/daycare initiatives. The nursery was the least of the concerns of many participants. Those who had children leaned on extended family or had easy access to low-cost domestic help. A surprisingly large segment of the audience seemed not to have children at all. Both camps felt somewhat excluded by the choice of topic. They wanted more immediate emphasis on negotiation skills and cultural barriers.

In fact, once the group had warmed up, the energy and buzz at the conference could not have been more familiar. The conversations revolved around access to mentors, plum assignments, global experience and advice on how to get it.

I really shouldn't have been so surprised. Close to 70% of college graduates in Dubai are now female and many of these women are committed professionals. A major new study by the Center for Work-Life Policy--to be released in June of this year--on Women in Emerging Markets, including BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies and the United Arab Emirates, finds that women constitute a pool of highly qualified talent just waiting to be tapped:

--UAE women love their jobs and display enviable levels of dedication to their work, with 90% willing to go the extra mile for their companies.

--92% of UAE women aspire to hold a top job.

--Their level of ambition is nearly 2.5 times that of their American counterparts and on par with their male peers.

As their goals and aspirations began to emerge, so too did glimpses of individuality and aesthetic flair. Now that I began to look beyond the anonymous black robes, I noticed sleeves and hems edged with vivid embroidery or snakes illuminated by Swarovski crystals. I particularly enjoyed the interplay of ethnic pride with high fashion. An abaya with an open slit in front could just as well reveal a glimpse of heels Carrie Bradshaw would swoon over as a pair of bejeweled sandals straight out of Scheherazade's closet.

Beneath our very different outer coverings, we were much more alike than I had thought. And that, perhaps, was the most important takeaway of all.

Sylvia Ann Hewlett is an economist and the founding president of the Center for Work-Life Policy, a nonprofit think tank, where she leads the "Hidden Brain Drain" Task Force. She is the author of nine nonfiction books--including Off-Ramps and On-Ramps and Top Talent: Keeping Performance Up When Business Is Down.


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