UAE Women Professionals Ready To Further Their Careers: Survey

KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 (Bernama) -- A global survey has revealed that women professionals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are ready to accept more responsibilities to further their career prospects. The findings are part of an external research study titled "The Path Forward," which was fielded by Accenture – a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company – to gain insight into the behaviours and attitudes regarding women's careers. According to Accenture, 3,900 business executives from medium to large organisations across 31 countries including Argentina, the Netherlands, Turkey, the UAE, and the United Kingdom took part in an online survey conducted by the company during November-December 2011, with a minimum of 100 respondents from most of the countries participating in the survey, including the UAE. "In the study, as many as 80 percent of the women surveyed in the UAE said that they accepted more responsibilities to further their career," the research company revealed. Some of the key findings of the research in the UAE showed that 71 percent of women, as compared to 70 percent of men, continued with their jobs for longer than they had intended to because of flexible work arrangements. The survey also indicated that more than anywhere else in the world, 80 percent of UAE women are willing to accept more responsibility and new challenges to advance further in their careers, while only 58 percent of men are willing to do so. "During the last ten years, women have also made significant achievements, and now there is a lot of excitement for the future," the company claimed. However, there are still greater gaps in the Middle East in terms of equality – women will "be close" to men in the workplace, but not completely equal, in the coming ten years. Meanwhile, according to Omar Boulos, the managing director of Accenture in the Middle East, "the survey reiterates Accenture's commitment to the Middle Eastern region as our tribute to the spirit and effort of women." "At Accenture Middle East, we have already begun our process of employing young Saudi women professionals who have outstanding educational backgrounds and who are committed to a very interesting career in our management consulting core business," he added. -- BERNAMA