GALLUP
NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- The fast pace of economic growth currently enjoyed by the United Arab Emirates has been aided by the incorporation and acceptance of women as workers and leaders. In addition, women's rising participation in the country's workforce is critical to the government's stated goal of reducing the U.A.E.'s heavy reliance on foreign labor.
What proportion of Emirati women currently work full-time outside the home? Among all female nationals aged 18 and older -- a group that also includes retirees and university students -- 32% told Gallup interviewers that they currently hold down an outside job (as compared with 73% of all Emirati men in this same age category). Regardless of their gender, nearly all of those employed outside the home say they work a standard five-day week, with men putting in only slightly more time each day on average than their female colleagues (7.7 hours vs. 6.9).
Are Emirati women satisfied with their current jobs? At least four in five say they are, although the proportion expressing satisfaction is slightly lower among women (82%) than among men (89%). However, Emirati women are as likely as men to say there is "someone at work who encourages [their] development" (79% of women agree, vs. 81% of men), and more likely than men to say that at work, their "opinions seem to count" (78% agree, vs. 67% of men). Furthermore, 82% of female and 84% of male employees say their current job gives them an opportunity to do what they do best every day.
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Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your job or the work that you do?
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Total
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87%
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Women
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82%
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Men
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89%
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Is there someone at work who encourages your development, or not?
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Total
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80%
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Women
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79%
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Men
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81%
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In your work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day, or not?
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Total
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84%
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Women
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82%
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Men
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84%
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At work, do your opinions seem to count, or not?
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Total
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70%
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Women
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78%
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Men
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67%
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Women's presence in U.A.E. workplaces promises to grow rapidly. The country is investing heavily in higher education, and women are taking disproportional advantage of the opportunity that this investment provides. These two trends are combining to pay significant dividends on both a human and a macroeconomic level.
Survey Methods
Results are based on face-to-face interviews conducted in September 2006 with a randomly selected national sample of 494 U.A.E. nationals, aged 18 and older. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±5 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
