Director of the UAE National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia) -Khaleej Times

On women in the labor force:

“Employers should think of women as labourers of equal competence and contribution, especially the UAE national women who are well educated, competent and committed,” said Dr Abdul Rahman Al Awar, the Director of the National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia).

“I believe people should think beyond traditional limits and think about women as a competency pool. It is just about what you could and what you are ready to do and challenges are there regardless of gender,” Dr Al Awar told ‘Khaleej Times’. Listing the challenges that women in the labour market face, he said they should be compensated for in a “90 per cent male-dominated environment". Many people might employ females but confine them within certain categories of occupations, which is another challenge in itself, I believe,” he said.

It is possible that firms are laboring under misconceptions about women, and giving them the quota treatment would expose them to facts which would correct the misconceptions.

On the absence of working conditions and benefits of concern to women:

Work conditions and environment in the local labour market are not suitable for female labour force regardless of nationality, he said.

“The UAE labour market is not suitable to recruit and introduce female labour force — both nationals and expatriates — as work conditions and other important issues are all tailored and framed for male—dominated labour force.” Issues of maternity leave, working hours and even average wages for same jobs (where women are paid less than men) are among the many challenges women workers face.

Why would firms offer these benefits if it means women of equal competence to men will be more expensive to employ than those men? If government wants to put women on a level playing field with men, then government will have to be the one to compensate the firms for hiring women.

On professional development:

Dr Al Awar criticised that some companies stick to traditional personnel issues while ignoring other human development factors.

“Many companies are still focusing on personnel issues like salary, vacation and working hours. They never go beyond that, ignoring skill development and training issues.”

The question is why firms are "ignoring skill development and training issues." Presumably they do sp because of the level of turnover. Professional ex-pats are relatively footloose. Nationals often leave the job market or move to the government sector. In either case, the firm that invests in training risks not receiving a return on its investment. The international job market rules here: firms buy the skills they need on the market.

On "competitive advantage":

On the impact of relying on unskilled labourers, Dr Al Awar said: “It is a big mistake to rely on cheap unskilled labour force. Companies should realise it is not a competitive advantage. They should rely more on skilled labour force as the UAE economy is becoming more global.”

The suggestion is that firms do not know their own best interest. This could be; just as they may have misconceptions about women. Firms that suffer these dillusions die off in a competitive market. It seems more likely that extant firms know their own best interest.