United Arab Emirates

Education differentials

In 1955, girls were first allowed to attend primary and secondary schools. These schools were established for girl students only, and had women teachers. The government took up education as a prime concern and encouraged initiatives for educating women after the union of the Emirates in 1971. As a result, the literacy rate among women rose from 22.4 percent in 1980 to 88.7 percent in 1995.

►    29.9% of adult females are illiterate (2000)
►    5.6% of female children are illiterate (2000)
►    80% of females are enrolled in secondary school
►    72% of tertiary students are female (1997)
►    42.3% of tertiary students in natural sciences* are female
►    14% of the teaching staff at the tertiary level are female (1992)

(*Includes computer science, engineering, mathematics, architecture, town planning, transportation, and communications)
Source: UNESCO Statistical Yearbook 1999.

In 1977, the first university in UAE was set up with separate campuses for boys and girls. This initiative enabled women to acquire higher degrees. Earlier, women had no access to higher education in the country, and it was not easy for them to go abroad for higher studies. Today, girl students constitute 72 percent of the total tertiary level students in colleges and universities.

Although a number of women opt for engineering and science, medicine and education are the conventional disciplines for women in UAE.

Internet usage

UAE was the first country in the region to permit cybercafes meant for men as well as women. There are 400,000 Internet users among a population of 2.7 million according to March 2000 data (ILO, 2001).[1] The UAE has 15 percent penetration of the Internet, which is higher than in some other Arab countries (5.7 percent in Lebanon and 6.1 percent in Qatar).

Women access the Internet mostly from colleges, universities, or home. According to the UNESCO Statistical Yearbook
(1999), only 6 percent of Internet users in Arab states were women. Considering the excellent educational opportunities for women in UAE, the share of women among Internet users may be higher than in the other countries in the region. No data on female Internet users in the country were available.

Labor-market participation by women

Females were about 19.4 percent of the total workforce in 1995. Large numbers of women opt for higher studies, but the majority of them do not join the workforce after getting their degree. Teaching and medicine remain the most likely career options for women. Female teachers account for 100 percent of all teachers in nursery schools, 55 percent in primary schools, and 65 percent in intermediate and secondary schools according to government statistics. About one-third of the total number of doctors and 81 percent of the nursing staff are women. Almost 40 percent of government workers are women. Both women and men like to be employed by the government because of the benefits and flexible work schedules. The UAE Federal Government invites women to be a part of the workforce, promising employment in government for every applicant.

Labor-market participation by women in the ICT sector

Citizens in UAE account for only 25 percent of the total population, and they prefer to work in the government or run family businesses. Immigrants belonging to various countries usually work in private firms. Immigrants, especially those from India and Pakistan, constitute a major part of the ICT labor force. According to Cisco sources, men outnumber women in the ICT workforce. But this trend is likely to change as young educated women are showing interest in computers and networking. Even in the ICT sector women prefer to work for the government.

Wage differentials

No data were available on wage differentials in the country's ICT sector.

Government policy on ICTs

The country has led the region in promoting censorship on the Internet. The Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), which was set up by the government, is the sole Internet service provider in the country. In UAE, dial-up users cannot access the Internet directly; instead they dial a proxy server that is maintained by Etisalat. Access is denied to a website if the requested URL is listed as a banned site. The UAE government has adopted such censorship to prevent access to pornographic websites.

The Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Secondary School Information Technology Project was initiated in 2000 by the Ministry of Education and Youth to provide Internet access and skills training. As part of this project, ICT classrooms with computers and network connections to enhance a computer curriculum are being developed at the secondary schools in Dubai. The program will be extended to all secondary schools in the country.

Government policy on gender

The government encourages positive policies and laws for women, but the country's constitution places women and their rights and roles within the context of the family, which is considered to be the foundation of the society. Thus government policies tend to preserve women's rights and provide them with appropriate income and employment opportunities in accordance with their traditional roles. The Social Affairs section of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the UAE Women's Federation are the two main government bodies dealing with women's issues. The UAE Women's Federation addresses issues on women's working conditions and education, and also advocates changes in personal law.

Human rights reports by external agencies state that at work women remain deprived of equal benefits such as housing and promotion. To overcome these hurdles, in 1995 the UAE Cabinet temporarily extended the paid maternity leave for UAE women citizens working in the private sector to three months with full pay, from forty-five days up to one year with half pay, and a second year's leave with quarter pay. In 1996, an associated declaration approved the ILO General Conference Equal Remuneration Convention of 1951. A conference was held in 1996 to promote women's rights in the workforce. The UAE government allows women's organizations to provide social welfare services, but so far none of these groups are found to be involved in activities such as technology-related training.

Sociocultural factors

UAE is among the world's wealthiest and technologically advanced countries. It is also the "most wired state in the Arab world." The low share of women in the labor market is a result of a number of cultural constraints, such as objection by husband or family, or the inconvenience of pursuing a career while having to run a household (a married woman needs a permit from her husband before taking a job).

Conclusion

There is great emphasis on women's education and their participation in degree courses, including ICT-related disciplines. However, because local sociocultural forces do not encourage women to participate in the labor market, their presence in the ICT sector is likely to be limited.

 

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