Increased female participation in the workforce will be vital to addressing the skills shortage that will result from a global economic recovery, says a top official of a leading human resources organisation.

“Given today’s challenging economic conditions, companies need to be more inclusive and forward-looking,” explained Patrick Luby, Managing Director, Manpower Middle East, a top staffing solutions provider.

“At Manpower Middle East, women comprise 75 per cent of the management team, and more than half of our operations and support staff in our nine Gulf offices is also female.  Our women employees have been playing vital roles in maintaining our leading market position in the region,” he added.

Regions such as the Middle East which have been less hit by the crisis continue to aggressively seek recruits, with a recent Gulf survey showing that more than 53 per cent of corporate respondents intend to hire more staff in the next 10 months.

The economic downturn has had a more negative impact on female workers, with the redundancy rate among women rising to 2.3 per cent. However, figures show that, on average, large companies with a majority of female board members post significantly better financial performance compared to those with fewer women.

In addition, current job sectors such as information technology and engineering which are experiencing greater skills shortage are where women are least represented.

Manpower Inc., the parent company of Manpower Middle East, was recently honoured for its commitment to empowering its female workforce by US-published PINK Magazine by naming it as a “Top Company for Women” for the second consecutive year. – TradeArabia News Service