Some banks in the UAE have started making their workplaces more accommodating for women employees.
The changes include offering women more flexibility to juggle a career and the demands of motherhood; choosing female candidates over males when credentials are the same; and creating programmes to help women advance in the company.
At least two banks offer new mothers additional time off. The law requires 45 days of maternity leave in which the employees receive full benefits and their positions are secure.
Barclays allows new mothers to take an additional 180 unpaid days while HSBC offers four extra months, with the first two months on half pay and two more months unpaid.
"To recruit and retain the best talent, a company has to adapt to the needs of the workforce where it is possible," says Ammar Shams, the head of human resources for HSBC in the UAE.
Both banks also allow new mothers to return part time or work hours that would accommodate their family duties, in some cases.
Special programmes or preferences for hiring members of one demographic group over others has long been used in some western labour markets, which introduced them to increase under-represented groups.
The UAE banks, too, have made attempts to increase the ranks of employees who are nationals.
Barclays' flexible schedule for new mothers is part of its global Diversity and Inclusion campaign launched last year. The campaign identified recruiting and training women in the emerging markets as a goal, says Fiona el Bassuni, the head of monitoring and training at Barclays in the UAE.
As part of that programme, the bank in the UAE also launched its Women's Leadership Programme in April.
In general, men outnumber women on the staff, with the gap significantly wider at the senior management and executive levels, Ms el Bassuni says.
Barclays selects five women who are in middle management to work on projects outside their departments. These women will work closely with executives.
"The goal is to increase the management and leadership skills of the women and to increase their visibility within the organisation," Ms el Bassuni says.
One of the women in the programme, Sumeet Sandhu, has lofty goals. "I want to be the managing director of Barclays at country level," says Ms Sandhu, who is the manager of investment products for branch banking.
She has been at Barclays for more than two years. On top of her work duties, Ms Sandhu is now working on a project with the head of the treasury to create an operating manual for sales of foreign exchange and derivatives.
Working on the project "benefits me in terms of boosting my skills and interest, which I could possibly move with in the future", she says.
Ms el Bassuni says the bank's performance review of management gauges the level of diversity, especially the portion of women and nationals on the staff.
But she added that the company does not encourage diversity at the expense of meritocracy.
"We will not ever say you should promote this person because she is a woman, but we could say if there are two equal candidates you can select the woman," Ms el Bassuni says.
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) also has an affirmative action programme to favour women.
"If we have two identical candidates, we may pick the woman but they really would have to be exact in their capabilities," says Ehab Hassan, the bank's corporate head of human resources.
Mr Shams says that although the programmes benefit all women, many were originally designed to attract Emirati women.
Today, at many banks, Emirati women already outnumber their male counterparts. At NBAD, for instance, women make up 450 of the 750 nationals employed.
"In general, Emirati women tend to do better in banking," Mr Hassan says. "Why? I can't put my finger on it but maybe because banking is about customer service and women are better at it naturally."
mjalili@thenational.ae
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
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14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
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16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
CREW
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Sunday:
GP3 race: 12:10pm
Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
Performance: Guns N' Roses
Business Insights
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- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Scoreline:
Everton 4
Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', Digne 56', Walcott 64'
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now