Sixty percent of women employees in the Middle East feel that they are treated fairly compared to their male counterparts, an online survey has revealed. A further 7% reported receiving preferential treatment vis-à-vis their male colleagues; 23% said men got preferential treatment, according to the findings of the exercise conducted by job site Bayt.com in conjunction with research firm YouGovSiraj. The survey was conducted during June, covering 2,602 respondents aged between 15 and 59. The Women in the Workplace Survey is a measure of women’s perceptions, attitudes, experiences and satisfaction of various elements of their role in the workplace, especially about their treatment and salaries compared to their male counterparts. Although 41% of the women felt they had a lower chance of being promoted than their male colleagues, this was most pronounced among GCC nationals, with half believing they stood a lower chance, closely followed by Asians (47%). By contrast, 44% of Western women, almost double the average (27%), felt that their promotion chances were equal to that of their male colleagues. “In tracking and monitoring this data, organisations and businesses across the entire region can benefit from the findings, allowing them to adjust, or develop new sets of measures or behaviours for promoting crucial gender equality,” Bayt.com CEO Rabea Ataya said yesterday. Almost half of all women surveyed, 46%, with 58% of them Asian, felt that they receive less pay than their male counterparts. Equality in terms of remuneration also differed by job sector, with a majority of female government and semi-government employees seeming to be more equally paid than others. In terms of satisfaction with regards to the level of work recognition they receive, only 24% of the respondents indicated high levels of satisfaction with 28% indicating they were dissatisfied. GCC nationals were the most dissatisfied, with 38% citing satisfaction as low. “It’s time employers sit up and take notice of this vital segment of their workforce as research reveals that if provided simple benefits, it would increase the longevity of 80% of women’s careers which will have a long term beneficial impact on the business and the economy as a whole,” YouGovSiraj CEO Nassim Ghrayeb said. GT

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