Awareness and Expectation—Gender in the Workplace

摘要

One of the most important legacies of the late President, Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan left to the people of the UAE was his insistence that women participate fully and equally in the growth and prosperity of the UAE. This paper examines the readiness of students, professors and professionals to accept women in professional roles in the oil and gas industries in the UAE. Working at the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi, the researchers train both men and women to become future engineers for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). In this study, future and present professionals were asked to rate their opinions about working with women in integrated work places. To solicit these opinions, a survey of seven questions, with a place for comments, was distributed to various age groups in various job categories. Distributed in educational institutions and local petroleum societies, the survey asked participants to rate their willingness to hire, mentor, work with, promote, and work for a woman engineer. This paper 1. analyzed a seven-statement survey. Finding that although most respondents agreed that greater numbers of women would be welcomed into the workplace, the researchers noted a stubborn minority of both men and women who did so with reservations. Looking for a plausible explanation, they concluded that stereotyping might be a motivator. 2. described ways that included mentoring, presenting women role models, demanding academic parity, engaging in professional activities, etc. to combat stereotyping to ensure a smooth transition of more women into the work place. 3. examined roadblocks, like [1) low number of women, 2) retaining and promoting women employees and 3) understanding differences] that companies needed to be alert to for a successful diversified culture and then listed five strategies [1) women-to-women mentoring 2) empathy vs. advice 3) anger management 4) working through problems 5) healthy environment] that must be addressed if companies want to hire and, more importantly, retain women. 4. concluded that while programs to address the needs and attitudes of future women engineers are in place or being established, programs for future men engineers are not. This might be the first place that women and men should look for parity.