Women workers can add $363bn to GCC's economy

More can be done to encourage women in the GCC to fulfil their potential and boost their participation in the local workforce, according to a new study.Cass Business School Dubai's new research report showed that although women make up 48 percent of the GCC population, they only account for 20 percent of the workforce.The study, prepared by UK and Gulf academics, said home-working initiatives are the answer to involving GCC women in national workforces and thus boosting local economies and increasing nationalisation rates. The report concluded that home-working could add over two million women to the workforce and potentially contribute up to 30 percent ($363 billion) to GCC GDP.   Focusing on Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the report recognised the success of the Dubai Women’s Establishment five year plan and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Programme for Leadership Development’s UAW Women’s Leadership Programme. Professor Chris Rowley, director of the Centre for Research on Asian Management, Cass Business School, London,  said: “Such initiatives show that at both a ministerial and social level, there is progressive thought with regards to improving rates of female economic participation in the UAE. "It is also important to acknowledge that in the UAE and other GCC States that the gap in female employment is not due to a gap in education." GCC governments have rapidly improved access to higher education, to the extent that 77 percent of women achieve university degrees in UAE. "Home-working schemes would be consistent with government programmes to enable sustainable development of women’s roles; these programmes are essential to accommodate rising levels of qualified female graduates from UAE universities ready to enter the workforce”.With 58 percent of the GCC labourforce being expatriate, the report suggested that GCC governments have the ability to reduce this dependency by establishing a new trend of home-working which will bring qualified females into professional roles. “Providing more jobs for GCC nationals has been an underlying goal in governments’ visions for the future and home-working can be successfully integrated into GCC economies, resulting in socio-economic benefits through increased employment of national women, and paving the way for sustainable growth and gender parity in line with current government strategies”, Professor Rowley added.A survey of 50 public and private sector companies across the GCC to assess attitudes to home-working for professional women found that 85 percent indicated that they were open to the idea although concerns were raised about the commitment of women to work from home. From / Arabian Business News