I would like you to meet Reem. She is a confident, successful woman from the Gulf. She has worked for three decades, first as a government employee, and then as an entrepreneur of two rapidly growing companies.
Given this and her background in finance combined with her education (two degrees and counting), you might think that Reem would be an ideal candidate for a board position, a role that requires corporate management skills and expertise.
And yet, female representation on boards and at higher levels across the Gulf is trailing behind much of the rest of the world.
For example, in the United Arab Emirates, where the government has vocally called out businesses to be more inclusive of women at senior levels, publicly-listed companies have been slow to adapt.
According to the UAE-based social enterprise Aurora50, women make up under four percent of total board members across the UAE’s 110 listed companies.
Often the reticence to change is laid at the door of culture; women are often seen by men as caregivers and as mothers. Little headway seems to have been made by arguments from other regions, most notably Europe and North America, that gender equality in business leads to sustainable, long-term success.
Research from McKinsey & Company, which analyzed over 1,000 companies worldwide, concluded that organizations with greater diversity among their executive teams enjoyed both greater profits and longer-term value.
McKinsey’s research also found that companies with low rates of both gender and racial diversity are 29 percent more likely to make less money.
In other words, a lack of diversity is bad for business, especially when you exclude half the population from your leadership team.
The Gulf’s governments understand the need to have more women involved, and some decision-makers are turning to quotas to force a change.
For example, the UAE announced on March 15 of this year that publicly listed companies must have at least one female board member.
So far, the legislation seems to have had little impact. In May of this year, research by Bloomberg found that only four of the 23 people added to board roles at firms on the UAE’s two major stock exchanges since March 15 were women.
While supporters of quotas argue that the issue needs more time, pointing to the impact such laws have had in other countries – in France, for example, women occupy at least 40 percent of board positions at large companies following the passing of a law in 2011 where a gradual quota was imposed to increase women’s participation from 20 percent in 2014 to 40 percent in 2017 – others believe that the issue needs a range of solutions that seek to address root causes.
Bahrain’s Elham Hassan, one of the region’s most experienced female board members believes that change is coming and that men are slowly but surely adapting.
Speaking on the occasion of International Women’s Day, Hassan – who serves on a number of boards including Bahrain’s Mumtalakat Holding – also argues that as women are under more scrutiny than men, boards need the right caliber of experience and personality to further the argument for gender equality.
“Men network more with their kind than the other gender. So for them to propose someone from the other gender, it’s not an easy thing for them,” says Hassan.
“When men make mistakes, they are forgiven very quickly. When a woman makes a mistake, it is never forgotten. I think we need to be sure we place the right people. Whatever we have built gradually we don’t want to lose by not having the right women on boards.”
Some organizations and countries are investing in programs that will help prepare women to take up board roles. An example of this is Bahrain’s Director Development Programme for Women, which was established by the National Bank of Bahrain in partnership with Tamkeen, the GCC Board Directors Institute (BDI) and EMIC training.
The idea behind this concept is simple – the program will give, and help women develop, the essential skills and competencies to succeed in board roles.
Those who enroll in the program benefit from year-long workshops conducted by expert international trainers and speakers. Much of the funding is provided by Tamkeen, a governmental agency that covers costs associated with training for nationals.
According to Dana Buheji, the chief human resources officer at the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) and a board member of Bahrain Islamic Bank (BIsB), the idea is to build up women’s capabilities and their confidence that they are more than ready to take up a board role on merit.
For Buheji, more informal support mechanisms such as mentorships and guidance are needed to help women step up and overcome any issues that they may face.
“It means a lot to get in touch with someone who has actually made it,” Buheji said.
“The main reasons why some people opt to exit early [are that] either they feel they are faced with a challenge they cannot deliver on or they feel that life is going to get more demanding in the future.”
These views are shared by others. In a recent blog post, the World Bank Group’s Country Director for the GCC, Issam Abousleiman, wrote: “[The World Bank] strongly supports efforts by GCC countries to promote inclusion and create opportunities for women to engage in all aspects of economic and social life. But, in its view, empowering women to become fully active participants in the GCC’s economic and social activities requires further effort. Legislative changes are laudable but need a support system developed to help women win elections, be promoted at work, open their own businesses, and become board members and high-level decision makers.”
For Reem and women like her, change is long overdue. They are ready to contribute and help to improve how the region’s businesses operate.
“I have so much experience, and I want my country’s economy to evolve and be more competitive. And that means I want to contribute, and that includes through board roles. As an entrepreneur, I’ve always been surrounded by men and I’ve had to adapt. That’s made me a better leader. I hope that our region’s businessmen can do the same and benefit from what I and other senior female executives have to offer.”