Women in Organizations: From Theory to Practice in the United Arab Emirates —Ras Al Khaimah and the Northern Emirates

Abstract

The goal of this project was to address relatively low levels of career persistence by women in the Arab Gulf states, particularly national and expatriate women in Ras Al Khaimah and the northern emirates. One issue is that women have increasingly enrolled, studied, and achieved undergraduate and graduate degree success in the United Arab Emirates and the wider Middle East region (Blanc, 2016; Miller & Wai, 2015). However, despite the presence of these highly educated women in the labor force, their recruitment, retention, and promotion to middle and senior levels remains relatively low (Rong & Rounds, 2015). If these human resources are not managed effectively, then their talent is lost to an organization, their ability to support their families is decreased, the country loses their economic participation and human development status is reduced. In order to lower barriers to the recruitment and retention of women, more training opportunities and highlighting their achievements in the workplace are needed. We recommend an increase in organizational support through utilizing the multimedia resources at the Virtual Center for Women & Leadership (MENA)