While progress has been made to promote women’s status economically and professionally, the journey to see a substantial increase in the number of females in senior positions is still uphill.
In recent decades, a major shift in lifestyle, culture and education has taken place in the MENA region, fuelling the transformation of women’s quality of life as well as promoting their status economically and professionally.
In particular, the GCC has seen great progress in the growing presence of women in the professional workforce, with female labour force participation rates higher than in North Africa or the Levant, despite a very traditional culture exemplified by the conservative guardianship laws and family code.
According to statistics shared during the 2016 Global Women’s Forum held in Dubai, GCC’s female labour force participation stands at 51% in Qatar, 47% in the UAE, 44% in Kuwait, 29% in Oman and 20% in Saudi Arabia. In comparison, the global average of women’s participation in the workforce is around 40% based on a 2017 report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
However, across the region, only 13% of women are CEOs compared with an average of 21% in all emerging markets and developing countries, and just 7% of presidents of the board are female, highlighting the significant gap at the top. The report also revealed that women fill 17% of all executive roles in the UAE and just 7% in Qatar.
Another report published in 2016 by Shareholder Rights and the EuroMena Funds found that only 17% of nearly 1,500 publicly listed companies in 13 countries across the MENA region had some female participation on their boards. Out of the 249 companies that had female representation on their boards, a mere 4% had female board chairs.
Among the listed insurers in MENA, there are only two female CEOs – Mrs Lamia Ben Mahmoud, Chairman & CEO of Tunis Re and Ms Sayyida Rawan Ahmed Al Said, Managing Director & CEO of Takaful Oman.
The economic sense of closing the gap
As it stands now, MENA countries will not reach the current global average for at least 150 years when it comes to women’s labour force participation, according to a blog post on “Women around the World”, which analyses the low rate of women in the workforce in MENA and the impediment it poses to economic growth.
However, as the region continues to face pressing challenges such as political instability and lower oil prices, local governments are increasingly looking to women’s economic advancement as part of reforms to boost and diversify economies.
A McKinsey’s report published in 2016 titled, “The Power of Parity”, estimated the possibility that US$28 trillion, or 26%, could be added to global annual GDP if women’s role in labour markets were equal to that of men’s.
Regionally, closing the female employment gap could help to increase the GDP of Egypt – the most populous nation in MENA – by over 34% and that of the UAE by more than 12%, according to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Outside MENA, gender parity could add an additional $250 billion to the GDP of the UK, $1,750 billion to that of the US, $550 billion to Japan’s, $320 billion to France’s and $310 billion to the GDP of Germany, the WEF report said.
Challenges persist
Despite such solid evidence that women’s participation would result in economic benefit, several factors continue to impede women’s empowerment in MENA.
Discriminatory elements in the region include women often not sharing the same rights as men to make decisions and/or to pursue a profession, the need for male permission to travel, lower salaries and inadequate access to entrepreneurial opportunities.
For example, in Egypt, Jordan and Libya, women must still obtain authorisation from their husbands or fathers if they wish to work.
Another gender-specific issue is attrition at the mid-level management levels, with women often exiting the workforce during their child-bearing years as many businesses in the region still do not support working mothers.
The direct impact is that the female talent pipeline starts to narrow mid-way through and, as a result, more of the senior management positions go to men.
Initiatives to empower women
In light of these persistent barriers, multi-pronged efforts are needed to overcome the structural and cultural issues women face in career advancement.
Many policymakers in the Middle East are taking the lead to address these barriers by introducing a range of empowerment measures to level the playing field for women in the workforce.
For example, a law was issued in the UAE to oblige all government departments and related companies to have female representation on their boards.
In Saudi Arabia, the government has passed reforms allowing women to enter the economic and even the political arena. As part of its Vision 2030 agenda, Saudi authorities aim to increase the participation of women in the workforce from the current level to 30%.
At the company level, individual firms can develop targeted leadership-development efforts such as career planning, coaching and mentoring to keep women from leaving the workforce or falling behind at the mid-point in their professional lives.
In addition, the boards can introduce requirements such as setting term limits, mandatory requirement age and performance evaluation to make room for women rising through the ranks.
The insurance industry is ahead of other sectors when it comes to encouraging female career development, said Ms Carole Khalifé, Head of Health & Group Benefits – UAE, Al-Futtaim Willis Co. She said that the industry could be working more effectively by recruiting more women, promoting them to top-tier roles and encouraging greater diversity.
On female leadership in the industry, Mrs Ben Mahmoud said: “Increasingly women have the skill set and, when given the chance, they have proven their worth and affirmed themselves as leaders today.”
Sharing her personal experience, Mrs Ben Mahmoud said she faces many difficulties throughout her career though they mainly related to professional issues much more than gender prejudices. “Being a CEO is a responsibility rather than an advantage, whether it is a woman or a man. Therefore, to better ensure this responsibility, it is necessary to work hard to keep up to this commitment,” she said.
Mrs Manal Jarrar, General Manager at National Insurance Company in Jordan, highlighted the importance of developing self-confidence for women leaders. She said: “A woman who develops her skill set and knowledge, as well as sets her goals and accomplishes them, develops self confidence. Having self confidence would open doors of opportunity. This principle applies not just to insurance, but to other sectors as well.”
Engaging women in insurance
Although there is a growing number of Arab women moving into the top spots in recent years, there is still a lack of female leaders in insurance compared to other sectors such as banking, education and healthcare.
The sector as a whole is competitive by nature, and the target-led, fast-paced work environment may seem less appealing or overwhelming for women, especially after maternity leave. Hence greater efforts are needed to increase diversity and inclusion programmes to attract more women to join the predominately male-led insurance industry.
Ms Manal Mashkoor, Head – Central for Insurance at Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF), said the first step in the right direction to attract women is to acknowledge that there is a glass ceiling and gender inequality in the industry in the region. This phenomenon is not exclusive to Middle East, and is present in matured markets worldwide.
She added that it is also important for leaders and decision makers see that setting up internal and visible measures to support women leadership benefits any organisation at both economic and cultural levels.
Ms Lama Sweis, Regional Chief Operating Officer at Lockton (MENA) Ltd, said the key is in retaining female talent long enough in their working life so that women can take over leadership roles.
She said: “For this to occur, we need to work on our corporate cultures and leadership attitudes. Statistics show that businesses make more money when more women are in positions of leadership. That is because diverse opinions add value to decisions which, in turn, promotes growth.
“It’s good to see that there are already a number of firms in the industry that have a genuine desire to retain female staff as they truly believe it benefits their businesses. These firms offer improved packages and flexible hours to their female staff.”
Agreeing, Ms Khalifé said companies need to offer women increased flexibility to allow them to stay involved in their roles long enough to achieve senior and C-level positions. She said: “We need to understand the dynamics of women’s lives and priorities as well. It is often harder for women to achieve both professional success and personal fulfillment. I often see female professionals missing important networking events that are arranged after working hours, since that would take them away from their families.
“In the US, 43% of highly qualified women with children are leaving their careers. I believe the statistics are worse in the MENA region. For most people, family comes first, and given the current structure, this will be at the expense of women achieving leadership.”
Personal responsibility
While policies and initiatives can address gender issues, ensure equal opportunities and create a conducive work environment, at the end of the day, women themselves need to take charge of their own career paths and rights.
Rather than sitting back and blaming others for the lack of opportunities, they need to take positive steps, work hard and move up through the ranks.
Ms Mashkoor said women can indeed be catalysts for positive change “by focusing on their careers, challenging societal stereotypes of female professionals and leading by example. Change is best if it starts within!”
At the same time, women currently in leadership roles can also pave the way for change by championing and mentoring younger women in the industry to reach the top. M
| Woman to woman
The insurance industry has been heavily male-dominated, and it has a long way to go before becoming a desired one for women to work in. We asked female leaders for their advice for other women in the sector and on how to aspire more women to join the profession.
“The insurance industry specifically is a very technical one. The regular advice I give my team (and one that I live by), is to adopt a continuous learning approach. Keep studying. Read or listen to audiobooks and your colleagues. Adopting a kaizen approach to improvement is a must in such a competitive, service-oriented industry.
Women also need to know their self-worth. Quite often we will take on more work and not ask that the increase in responsibility is reflected in career progression. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. It’s as simple as that.”
Ms Carole Khalifé
Head of Health & Group Benefits – UAE, Al-Futtaim Willis
“I would share the following top-five tips with my colleagues joining the industry:
- Choose your job not solely based on money, but on the company’s corporate culture which mirrors your values;
- Be genuine;
- Don’t just work hard, work smart;
- Find your unique strengths as a person and as a female, and embrace them; and
- Recognise and stop unhelpful mindsets that hold you back.”
Ms Lama Sweis
Regional Chief Operating Officer, Lockton (MENA) Ltd
“Opportunities abound in the insurance industry for any dedicated and hardworking professional, irrespective of their gender.
Contrary to common belief, insurance is not a grey industry. It is an industry that is rewarding, mind-provocative, and rich with an impressive characteristic of encompassing professionals from all fields.
Therefore, whether you are a graduate in business, medicine, engineering, mathematics, IT or education, insurance can make the best of your abilities and offer you a life-long career.”
Ms Manal Mashkoor
Head – Centre for Insurance, Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF)
“If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody will. You act on the belief people will treat you based on what you think about yourself. It is you who defines the meaning of success. If you work smarter, you will win. Any woman can be on her way to making her entrepreneurial dreams come true.
The bottom line is this: if you are successful, no one really cares whether you are male or female.”
Mrs Manal Jarrar
General Manager, National Insurance Company, Jordan
“To succeed, one should persevere and not be intimidated by any failure. You need to have faith and confidence in yourself and in those around you.”
Mrs Lamia Ben Mahmoud
CEO, Tunis Re
|