Job Discussion Forums

Pat79 · Joined: 14 Jun 2013 Posts: 3

I know that the UAE is not as 'conservative' as the KSA but does anyone know of any girls' colleges/universities that have female only staff and management teams so that female teachers would not need to liaise with male employees at all? I was hoping to apply for an ESL job there as it is easier to obtain visas for the whole family. Thank you.

Desert Camper · Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 11:21 am Post subject:

No, there are no such institutions in the UAE, and rightly so.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

PattyFlipper · Joined: 14 Nov 2007 Posts: 572

University of Sharjah has a men's campus and a women's campus, but instructors of both sexes teach in either one, so they are not completely segregated as far as teaching staff are concerned. You would also be expected to liaise and coordinate with colleagues of the opposite sex.

Pat79 · Joined: 14 Jun 2013 Posts: 3

Thank you for your responses. After a lot of research over the last year as well as contact with many recruitment agencies I've come to the conclusion that nomad soul's advice sounds right.

I'm not too sure about the 'gender equality' comment though. If I'm given the opportunity to work in a segregated work place with equal pay and equal opportunities to climb up the corporate ladder then how is that not 'gender equality'?

If the pay is not equal then even here in the UK men and women work side by side but on average women still earn less than men for the same job and a much lower percentage of women compared to men become department heads and CEOs.

In conclusion, gender inequality can exist in a segregated or mixed work place and if in the KSA women can teach English in a female only environment and get paid the same as the men on the men's campuses as well as work their way to the top, then for EFL teachers atleast they (the KSA) seem to have done a better job at advancing gender equality than some western nations.

johnslat · Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 1:42 pm Post subject:

Dear Pat79,

This story is from 2010, so has the situation changed since then?

"RIYADH // Are 100,000 female Saudi teachers victims of salary discrimination, or are they employees who freely signed job contracts and now must live with the financial consequences? This is the question at the heart of a debate in the kingdom that has been running for more than a year. And it is not an insignificant debate, since its outcome affects one of the most important sectors of the government's workforce: those training the next generation of Saudis.

"We are seeking equality with men in our financial rights," Mona Abdel Aziz, one of the activists campaigning to rectify what she and other teachers regard as unjust discrimination, said in an interview last week. The government acknowledges there are salary differences between these female teachers and their male counterparts and has taken some steps to close the gap. But it has not met all the teachers' demands, which would cost the government - at a minimum - 28 billion Saudi riyals (Dh27.4bn), according to Fahad al Tayash, the spokesman for the ministry of education.

Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/saudis-female-teachers-demand-equal-pay#ixzz2WZgG9H8X

But this is more recent: April 2013

"Women workers in the private sector earn on average SR 2,824 a month, while men get about SR 5,686, according to the Ministry of Labor's 2011 annual report released recently.
�There is a minimum wage. The difference in wages is due to the different types of work. Ministry of Labor regulations mandate that males and females should get equal pay if they are in similar jobs,� said Hattab Al-Anazi, spokesman for the ministry.
Samir Hassan, chairman of the human resources commission at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), said the difference in pay was due to the different work done by women, which was mostly administrative. In some cases, a business has to cut the working hours for women because of the nature of their work, he said.
�These numbers are sad. The big difference in pay is due to the private sector's unfair treatment of women, even though they work together. But I think the private sector discounts a woman's pay because she takes maternity leave,� he said. �However, this is no excuse for this big difference,� he added."

http://www.arabnews.com/node/447408

Regards,
John

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

Pat79 · Joined: 14 Jun 2013 Posts: 3

Thank you again for your responses.

Nomad soul, your point sounded like you were linking the issue of segregation to gender inequality and I just tried to point out that gender inequality can exist in both types of environment.

John, I was specifically referring to EFL teaching jobs. I said that IF the KSA (or the recruitment agencies) atleast give equal pay and opportunities to female and male EFL teachers then that is still 'advancement' although a lot more still needs to be done there (as well as here). If they don't then it's not the 'segregated' environment that is causing the inequality; that's all I was trying to point out.