CAIRO: Fifty-one percent of women in the Middle East believe that their gender will not affect their chances of career advancement, a recent study found, indicating forward strides in the workplace and clearing common misconceptions about working women in Egypt. A study conducted by the Middle East's leading career website, Bayt.com, together with online market research firm YouGovSiraj, showed that 60 percent of working women in the Middle East feel they are treated equally to men, while another 7 percent feel they are treated even better than their male colleagues. For women in the Middle East, who have sometimes struggled to be accepted as equals to men, these new findings suggest that stereotypes are changing. The "Women in the Workplace survey aims to portray women's views, thoughts and experiences about their role in the workplace with a focus on the way they are treated and the salaries they receive compared to male employees. The findings suggest that more women feel that they are getting a fair chance in the workplace. "The opinions of female employees towards their work and their treatment in 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, Rabea Ataya, CEO of Bayt.com, said. He added that over 70 percent of the women surveyed indicated that women already occupy senior-ranking positions in the companies where they are employed. The research findings also reveal a significant change in women's ambitions and their desire to continue their education and receive academic degrees that would earn them high-ranking positions and thus equal opportunities. "Companies across the region are realizing that they cannot afford to ignore or undermine in any way this vital, capable and competitive sector of the workforce, Ataya commented, "general expectations that women adhere to the more recently acquired traditional role of a housewife are increasingly becoming a thing of the past. However, there are still some areas where women feel they are being treated unfairly. The survey asked if they felt they were receiving equal salaries, rewards and benefits as their male counterparts. Forty-six percent of women surveyed felt that they were being paid less than men. Engy Wassfy Tawfik, district manager of Lily, a pharmaceutical company, felt that the problem does not lie with the salaries. "Women receive the same salaries as men when they're in the same position but it's the men who usually get promoted rather than the women. This makes females feel that they are earning less than men. Women in the Middle East are, first and foremost, expected to look after their family and home. That is why 62 percent of women believe they should receive special benefits since they consider themselves the primary caretakers of their families, while 63 percent revealed that they do not receive any special treatment when most of them felt they should. When it came to maternity leave, satisfaction wavered between indifferent and low, at 34 percent and 29 percent respectively. A staggering 81 percent of women indicated that their current employers do not provide any daycare facilities for the children of female employees. According to Tawfik, employers may prefer men who they believe may have fewer responsibilities and would therefore be fully dedicated to their job. This, Tawfik believes, creates an obstacle for working mothers who might find this discouraging. Nassim Ghrayeb, CEO of YouGovSiraj, disagrees. "In spite of several gender-based disadvantages and additional familial responsibilities, what struck me as being truly remarkable was the sheer determination of women to succeed. "It is 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 percent of women's careers which will have a long-term beneficial impact on the business and the economy as a whole, Ghrayeb said.
