Challenging Gender Stereotypes of Women in the Middle East.
by Maya Khalifeh, Head of CX INDEVCO | 3 minute read
As I and so many other working women in the Middle East climb the corporate ladder, we are fortunate that career opportunities are not limited anymore which was the case previously. People in the west have impressions on working women in the Middle East and GCC that, I feel as a businesswoman from this region, we need to break down.
Women In The Middle East Are Ambitious.
Now more than ever, I see strong-willed women in the Middle East who are hard workers, self-confident and persistent in their career growth. They have growth potential inside and outside of their environment. People only build walls around themselves, as Steve Jobs says if you wake up for few days not happy with your job; change it. Women empowerment should be a global movement, only 15% of C-level, top management and board member positions are held by women in the corporate world. The numbers have not moved since 2002.
Women in the Middle East See Themselves At Equal Distance With Men.
People outside of the region have the impression that women here are weak; it is the total opposite. I am not talking here about gender equality, I believe God gave us qualifications really different from men in a way we complement each other and add value equally to each other’s lives. Women here are strong-willed, they know what they want, demand it and above all not afraid to request basic rights or even demand divorce from their counterparts. We sure have other cases where women are not yet empowered, but isn’t it the case in the rest of the world?
Women In The Middle East Also Feel The Guilt Of Being Absent From Their Kids.
Even if we have support functions for our kids and houses more accessible than in the west, all women in the Middle East feel the guilt when having to be away from their kids. Recently, especially in the GCC, there is more support and encouragement that women take part in the workforce. However, women face harder choices when having to choose between professional success and personal fulfillment. Even in the US, two-third of married men senior managers have children and only one-third of married women senior managers have children. How do we make this different? How do we change this? Top management in the corporate world should communicate clearly that they support working women with a set of initiatives that help the women not only achieve their business targets but also personal and family objectives.
Keeping with the facts, according to recent report by World Bank, female participation in the Middle East is still low and remain one of the lowest in the world. We need to act in the following areas: stronger economic growth, promotion of more egalitarian attitude, access to quality childcare and the provision of safe transportation. There are also significant opportunities in the digital economy; however, without actions to close the digital gender gap those opportunities become another barrier.
3 Key Messages
As a businesswoman from the Middle East, there are messages we need to tell ourselves. I am not saying that staying in the workforce is the right thing for everyone but when you have that in mind, here are 3 key messages:
Sit At The Table.
Believe in yourself, own your successes and your failures. Negotiate for yourself. Demand your chair at the table, bring one if it is not present. In the workforce, women systematically underestimate their own abilities while men reach out for opportunities more than women. It is surprising to me that women will apply for a job once they see they fit 100% the job requirements; whereas men would apply if they feel they fit 60% only!
Communicate What You Want.
Know your worth. No one gets the promotion if they don’t think they deserve it; so communicate accordingly your success. We put more pressure on our boys to succeed than we put on girls whereas we should teach the girls that they should be equally ambitious and aggressive in their careers. Girls need to communicate what they want, have a clear vision, strategy and, with confidence, a road-map forward.
Don’t Leave Before You Leave.
Stay in and keep your foot on the gas pedal until the day you decide to leave and then make the proper decisions! Women aim to get married, probably before the age of 40 and obsess about it in a way that some would refuse growth opportunities thinking that it may affect their personal plan to get married, having a child and maybe having to leave the work. They stop demanding involvement in new projects, stop asking for promotions, limit themselves and stop raising their hand which is too sad. In parallel, there are fundamental changes that should take place in the society so that the partner in the house becomes a real partner. Right now if a woman and a man both work and have a child, studies show that the woman does 3 times the amount of childcare than the man does and twice the amount of housework the man does. So basically she has got 3 jobs while he has got 1.
Final thoughts.. This matters a lot to me, as I have in addition to 2 wonderful boys, a daughter called Yasmina, the apple of my eye, who is just 18 months old and I want her to live in a better world. If half our companies are run by women, we would be in a much better world.
For Yasmina, and the next generation of women: “The sky is your limit, you are empowered! Deal with the man as equal second half. Be independent; seek for a lifetime of education. Be agile and strong. Have a job that is challenging to you, rewarding and hopefully at equal pay with men!”
Maya Kalifah | Bio
Maya Khalifeh is a seasoned expert, with over 15 years’ experience in setting strategies and systems that empower clients to elevate customer experience and build long-term strategic partnerships.
She helps companies improve business results by becoming more customer-centric, grow sales by setting up and implementing customer experience management programs. Maya has deep knowledge in development of active customer retention programs and customer divestment strategies.
She helps businesses categorise customers and nurture them from one tier to another, as well as leverage digital transformation to retain customers. She also has thorough expertise in setting up B2B Lead Generation mechanisms, systems, and processes.
Maya holds Executive MBA dual degree from ESCP Europe & ESA Business School, she is Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), she is certified by MIT Sloan Business School in Negotiations & Influence in addition to Customer Advisory Board certified professional. She is the award winner of "Customer Experience Professional of the Year" at 2020 Gulf Customer Experience Awards.
She is based in Lebanon. Maya is mom to Mikael, Alexander and Yasmina.