Most women dismiss gender bias at office

Three out of five women working in the region feel they are treated fairly at their workplace, while only 24 per cent report high satisfaction with their jobs, according to a survey conducted recently.

The Women in the Workplace survey, conducted by the job website Bayt.com in conjunction with research specialists YouGovSiraj, also found that 23 per cent of women felt their male colleagues received preferential treatment. However, seven per cent actually reported receiving preferential treatment vis-à-vis their male colleagues.

The majority of women – 43 per cent of respondents – felt their gender had not affected their career prospects, with only 22 per cent saying being a woman had an impact on their careers.

The survey is a measure of women's perceptions, attitudes, experiences and satisfaction of various elements of their role in the workplace, particularly in their treatment and salaries received compared to their male counterparts.

Rabea Ataya, Bayt.com's CEO, said: "The opinions of female employees about their treatment at the workplace are hugely authoritative tools for revealing the true nature of the business environment from a woman's perspective in the Middle East today."

The survey revealed a disparity among nationalities regarding their views about their workplace. Although 41 per cent of women felt they had a lower chance of being promoted than their male colleagues, this was most pronounced amongst GCC nationals, with half believing they stood a lower chance, closely followed by 47 per cent of Asians.

In contrast, 44 per cent of Western women, almost double the average (27 per cent), felt their promotion chances were equal to or more than their male colleagues. Another way that women's feelings about gender equality were measured was in terms of their financial remuneration and their level of rewards and benefits.

Forty-six per cent women said they received less pay than their male counterparts, with Asian nationals reporting the highest incidence, at 58 per cent. Equality, in terms of remuneration, also differed by job sector, with most female government employees seemingly more equally paid.

The survey was conducted online between June 4 and 22, among 2,602 women – 1,515 of whom were working – across the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

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