88% of women have no obstacles managing enterprises

Emirati women are considerably participating in economic development, as figures issued by Abu Dhabi Statistics Centre show that relative participation of female citizens in the labour force in 2013 was up to 31.2 percent of the measured total labour force in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council research findings in 2014 in the first publication issued by Research Administration, Department of Economic Development, showed that the larger portion of businesswomen are in age group of 41-50 years at 40.1 percent of the total research sample followed by those aged 31-40 years at 31.4 percent .

Findings showed a drop in the portion of young businesswomen aged younger than 30 years at only 9.6 percent. Businesswomen 2014 survey results in Abu Dhabi indicated that 63 percent of businesswomen in Abu Dhabi are Emirati nationals, 21 percent from Arab countries, about 12 percent Asian and about 4 percent from other countries.

Survey results showed that 49 percent of them are undergraduates or postgraduates, followed by the post-secondary group at 23 percent, then secondary school at 20 percent and finally educational pre-secondary group at 9 percent. The majority percentage of businesswomen are married at 87 percent of the sample, while the remaining 13 percent's marital status was single-divorced-widow.

Findings suggest that businesswomen's share of the capital of economic enterprises amounted to an average of 72.2 percent, and the results show that about 58 percent of businesswomen's contribution to the capital was 100 percent, indicating that the larger portion of businesswomen in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi have higher financial ability enabling them to enjoy individual ownership of their businesses.

The report added that with the increase of working women in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the idea of supporting Women's Affairs and the fields of her business and investment has come to light, through the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council, in the form strengthening the role of businesswomen to participate in the process of economic development in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, where the Council endeavours to strengthen bilateral ties with businesswomen's communities in the Gulf, at the Arab level, and internationally, as the Council proceeds to provide appropriate opportunities for training and rehabilitation of women and expand their participation in business and professional level.

The report pointed out that at the level of the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the 2030 Economic Vision has placed Emirati women on the list of development priorities, where the vision emphasises the empowerment of women in the economy in terms of increased participation in the labour force, stressing that the aspiration of the government of Abu Dhabi to achieve levels of female participation is consistent with what is prevalent in comparable economies that have rich experiences with regard to female participation, and consistent with the aspirations of the 2030 Economic Vision.

The results of Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council in 2014 to increase the profitability of economic enterprises owned by businesswomen in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, where the earnings ratio hit an average of 29.1 percent of total revenue, reported that about 24.6 percent of businesswomen achieve profits of around 50 percent or more, which is high compared to the rates achieved by businesswomen in the Middle East.

Findings indicate that about 88 percent of businesswomen do not suffer any obstacles in managing their own enterprises.
Source: WAM