Women who are successful in business have usually achieved the right work-life balance. Delegates at a conference hosted by the Dubai Women Establishment were told that the most successful female entrepreneurs are those who are able to juggle work and home, while also setting aside time for themselves.
The conference attracted more than a dozen women from the Emirates who are now successful entrepreneurs in several different fields.
Their message was that women can’t neglect their home life when they are focused on their career. However, the key to getting the right work-life balance is to meet all the different demands but not at the cost of a lack of social life or diminished wellbeing.
The conference heard that Emirati men need the support of their male partners if they are to achieve their goals but this is a problem in the Emirates because of the inequality in society between men and women.
Noura Ahmad Al Noman is the director general at the executive office of Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, the wife of one of the rulers of the Emirates and a prominent supporter of social development in the UAE. Al Noman told delegates that too many women had to take on all of the responsibilities of the family and work at the same time while their menfolk ignored anything to do with the home.
However, the conference also heard that more businesses and organisations in the UAE are now paying attention to their female workforce with nurseries and daycare facilities now being provided at an increasing number, freeing up women to go to work knowing their children are being cared for. Hospitals, with their large numbers of female staff, are leading the way in providing childcare.
The conference heard calls for better maternity leave and increased leave for mothers to care for sick children.
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