'Female leaders more likely to strive for gender balance'

Fatma Hussain, chief human capital officer, TECOM Group during the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Emirati Women's Day 2017 celebrations. - Photo by Dhes Handumon

Women leading businesses are more likely to achieve gender balance in the workplace, said Emirati female experts.
Speaking at an event hosted for Emirati Women's Day, Fatma Hussain, chief human capital officer at Tecom Group shared the organisation's vision of giving more opportunities to female employees and empowering them into senior positions.
"Female leaders are aware of the importance of gender balance and continue to improve certain policies to make women grow in organisations," said Hussain.
She highlighted the increase of female newcomers in the organisation that is 30 per cent females compared to 69 per cent males.
"We monitor and set up the right ecosystem that allows equal opportunities for women and men," said Hussain.
Given women's diverse responsibilities towards their families and society as a whole, Hussain said the company's senior management provides the right policies that enable women to grow and create difference in society.
"We noticed high retention levels across female employees who start a family despite their high performance, so we adjusted our maternity leave with the public sector [90 days], and introduced more flexible timings for women with children," said Hussain, noting that different facilities are also provided to pregnant employees.
She added that the management also emphasises on hiring females in senior positions "because [women] can contribute and give back to their communities." Currently women in leadership positions stand at 24.1 per cent at Tecom Group, and numbers are growing every year, Hussain said.
While the country's leadership continues to introduce initiatives that support, Hussain said it is important for women to empower each other.
"We have to help each other out to work in harmony and cohesive approach to achieve our mission in the country and society," said Hussain.
Echoing similar sentiments is Dana Kamali, senior manager at corporate sustainability Mena at HSBC, who stressed on the importance of women giving back to society and other females.
"When a woman reaches a good position, she has to help bring other women up," said Kamali.
She added offering volunteering opportunities, for example, will help female employees connect with the wider community to find meaning. Encouraging them to become leaders and promoting gender balance in corporate boards will support them in the workplace.
"Supporting their development with programmes will increase their productivity, help them reach their full potential and, therefore, will benefit businesses," said Kamali.
She said adding flexible working hours can also help improve female employment and contribution to the country's economy.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE

Sherouk Zakaria

sherouk@khaleejtimes.com