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SMEs champion equal employment opportunities in UAE

DUBAI, July 22, 2015

Women are just as likely as men to find employment in small and medium-sized businesses in the UAE, according to the latest research by business intelligence company MEED.

About 50 per cent of the more than 50 top SMEs in the emirates which participated in the study said they employ an equal number of women and men in their organisations.

About 40 per cent even reported having a majority of women on their payroll compared to men.

The inputs were compiled by MEED from SMEs in the UAE as part of this year’s edition of the Gulf Capital SME Awards, which recognise outstanding small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as exceptional business leaders and entrepreneurs.

The Awards will honour businesses that can best demonstrate how their organisation has created a positive working environment and invested in developing their people with the People and Culture of the Year award.

The other awards include Gulf Capital Business of the Year, Emirati Business of the Year, MasterCard Small Business of the Year, Online Business of the Year, Start-up Business of the Year, Business Innovation of the Year, Customer Focus of the Year, DHL People and Culture of the Year, Sustainable Business of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year and Business Leader of the Year.

The study showed a step forward for the adoption of equal employment opportunity practices, and highlighted SMEs as spearheading the efforts across the UAE.

Earlier this year, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced the formation of the ‘UAE Gender Balance Council,’ a federal body that aims to boost the emirates’ efforts to evolve and enhance women’s role as key partners in building the future of the UAE.

The council will be chaired by Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who in a statement said: “The impact of a significant female presence in leadership roles has wide-ranging benefits on the economy, on governance, and on society at large.

“The UAE has always worked to dismantle barriers that create tension between the genders. We have a great opportunity to uncover new paths that we may walk on together".

Meanwhile, the research also indicated a growing number of young professionals are now employed by SMEs, with 47 per cent of the respondents saying many of their staff are aged under 30.

Amid these positive developments, the study also found that an overwhelming majority of SMEs consider recruitment to be one of their top three challenges.

Becky Crayman, head of awards, MEED, said: “While the UAE has become a hub for many from around the world, it seems there is still a mismatch, at least in the SME business sector, between available jobs and the experience and expertise of people based in the UAE.”

While recruiting qualified staff has put some pressure on SMEs, an equally important issue that small business owners must address – only about 20 per cent of SMEs interviewed for the report have hired UAE nationals, it said. The rest have either no Emirati employees, or are unable to recruit one.

Mike Hynes, managing partner, Kershaw Leonard, a leading recruitment firm in Dubai, said: “While we as an organisation are fully supportive of the government’s Emiratisation programme, the reality is that it is very hard for many big companies, let alone SMEs, to attract or recruit Emirati talent owing to so many factors, such as most nationals preferring to work in government offices and the significant disparity in compensation packages between the public and private sectors.

“A successful nationalisation campaign will depend as much on encouraging the Emirati workforce to become competitive with a work ethic that is comparable to the needs of the private sector, as it will on the government legislating appropriately.”

The government has tried to solve the issue by setting up a classification of companies and establishment based on the number of UAE nationals employed which offers several incentives for companies that meet Emiratisation targets including lower labour card fees. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Gulf | SME | capital | Awards | amortisation |

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