Survey by Bain & Company says "More women working in GCC than ever before"

While the GCC has experienced never-before progress in terms of women's presence in the workforce, proactive and quantifiable gender parity still has to be accomplished, according to a recent research from the international consultant Bain & Company.

In addition to focus sessions and interviews with 50 female leaders in the GCC, the Advancing Gender Equity in the Middle East Workforce study also features diagnostics of 25 of the top GCC organisations and the findings of a poll of 1,150 professional men and women.

Regional information from the research demonstrates that governments around the GCC have significantly contributed to promoting gender parity across industries. When it comes to the percentage of women working in the area, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), both at 60%, continue to be in the lead. Saudi Arabia has had the quickest rate of change, surpassing its Vision 2030 goals more than seven years ahead of schedule by attaining a female participation rate of 37% in the first quarter of 2023.

According to the Global Gender Gap Index published by the World Economic Forum, the GCC still has one of the worst gender disparities in the world.

The leadership level is when the divide is most obvious. For instance, compared to 20% internationally, women hold just 7% of board seats in the GCC.

In-depth analysis of the root reasons reveals that gender prejudice and preconceptions, combined with poor hiring practises, a lack of mentoring, training, and support for work-life balance, are mentioned as the main challenges by 70% of women. The growth of women in corporate leadership is hampered by several issues, which are shared internationally.

Teams that are geographically and gender diverse, according to research, make better business judgements. In the GCC, teams that perform well have more women than males 87% of the time and 70% of the time.

"Women have been changing the face of the workforce in the GCC, with a growing number of organisations reaching the tipping point of 30% representation," said Anne-Laure Malauzat, Partner and Chief DEI officer at Bain & Company Middle East. This movement was significantly sparked by the government's campaign for gender parity, and over the past five years, more organisations have seen the benefits of gender diversity and have made it a priority. It is encouraging to see how many of these organisations are locally founded and leading the way in developing gender equity practises and laws that are specifically representative of the regional cultural and socioeconomic context.

In order to assist organisations understand where they are starting from and choose the optimal course of action in terms of practises, Bain & Company has created a strategy that is grounded in research and experience. This strategy is built around five main pillars:

1. Integrated leadership commitment, strategy, and vision for gender equity
2. Culture, inclusiveness, and belonging at work
3. ability journey
4. Benefits and compensation
5. External interaction with the public, including governments, the community, and suppliers, as well as the setting of precise, quantifiable goals backed by useful organisational policies and programmes

Three crucial models emerge at various levels of the gender equality journey's development based on our comprehensive study into these practises:

Initially: Emerging Organisations that have just begun their equity journey are called adopters.

Level 2: Confirmed Businesses that are picking up on their journey are learners.

Tier 3: The first worldwide pioneers in gender equity practises are known as trailblazers.

According to Bain's study, 50% of GCC organisations are Tier 1, 40% are Tier 2, and less than 10% exhibit Tier 3 characteristics.

Women can significantly contribute to the workplace, but there are still too few of them in the Middle East achieving board and corporate leadership roles, according to Karen Khalaf, Partner and Women@Bain lead at Bain & Company Middle East. There are several levers that organisations may use to start or advance their gender equity journey, and if all organisations do their bit and learn from one another, we can continue to build on the momentum of the area and reduce the gender gap.