Women failed by public sector, says poll

Programmes that allow work/life balance, pension funds and opportunities for career development are some of the main concerns of women working in the public sector.

ABU DHABI // Most female public sector employees would like the option of working part-time, while others feel they are denied the chance to better themselves professionally, a new survey says.

The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (Fahr) survey aimed to identify the main concerns of working women in the public sector, and surveyed 7,876 respondents electronically over a three-week period this month.

The lack of a part-time option is just one of several challenges facing professional women, according to the survey.

Others include pension funds and the reliance on foreign talent. The preliminary results of the survey were reported yesterday during a conference on the challenges and potential solutions for working women, at the General Women's Union.

Ninety-six per cent of respondents were Emirati. The number of women surveyed in the federal and local public sector was almost evenly split.

The organisation'sbiggest challenge lay in increasing the number of women in leadership positions, according to Humaid al Qattami, the chairman of Fahr. "Today, women can stand side by side with men across all specialisations," he said.

"This wouldn't have been possible without the flexibility of laws and regulations that support working women and help them access career opportunities," he said.

The survey found about 80 per cent of women said their employers did not offer the option to work part-time.

The law set by the authority in 2008 allows public institutions to modify their working times within the boundaries of the approved weekly working hours. However, article 11 of that same law prevents part-time employees from receiving a number of pension and social security benefits, discouraging many women from part-time work.

The study showed that a majority of women favoured lowering the retirement age from 50 and reducing from 20 the number of working years required before they could start drawing their pensions.

Opportunities for professional development were also an issue, as 44 per cent of women surveyed in the federal public sector said that their employers did not provide them with opportunities to pursue training and continued learning.

Sixty-six per cent said they were not satisfied with the methods of their evaluation and appraisal.

The Fahr has proposed a system for performance management and a special policy for training and development of women. Both proposals are pending Cabinet approval.