UAE expat women send home more money than men, study shows

DUBAI // South Asian women send more money home than men, are better educated and are a safety net for their families, a study suggests.

More than half the women allocate a portion of their overall remittances for emergencies and bad economic times, compared with only 5 per cent of all expatriate workers, and about 78 per cent sent money to elderly relatives and to support the health and education of their loved ones.

"Most of their money is spent on building human capital like health and education. Women contribute significantly to human capital, which is economic development," said Dr Ismail Hakki Genc, a professor of economics American University of Sharjah.

"Women tend to care for the older generation more, contribute to education more and tend to family emergencies better."

Dr Genc and his colleague Dr George Naufal, an assistant professor of economics at the university, studied the remittances and behaviour of 400 women from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines employed in Dubai as domestic staff or in the service industry.

The two academics analysed data from a study of remittances in 2008, and the results of questionnaires issued by Western Union in 2010. Their paper was published yesterday.

The 2008 data indicates that the mean remittances of female workers in Dubai were almost Dh2,000 more than male expatriatess.

Almost 60 per cent of women had a university or higher graduate degree but were working in lesser qualified jobs than men, of whom only 30 per cent had achieved the same level of education.

Although women were found to be more fiscally independent, the authors said they needed "more voice" in family financial decisions and government policies to help them to grow.

"Well designed policies, which could include support groups, as well as opportunities and facilities for expats to observe cultural traditions and celebrations, would attract workers, raise the status of the host country and increase global economic efficiency by reducing unemployment," said Dr Naufal.

"Through these measures, the positive impact of women in both their home and host countries would increase significantly."

The paper was critical of the lack of crucial data on expatriate female labour migration in the region.

"We have seen that the empowerment of women is an important driver in improving the welfare of families and communities around the world, both in places where they work abroad and in their home countries," said Sobia Rahman, regional vice president for Gulf, Pakistan and Afghanistan at Western Union, which sponsored the paper.

"The research shows that in the Middle East there is great potential to unlock the positive impact that women can play."

pkannan@thenational.ae