Introduction
The article “United Arab Emirates female entrepreneurs: motivations and frustrations” by authors Hanifa Itani, Yusuf M. Sidani and Imad Baalbaki is a case study article focusing on the corporate woman in the UAE. The purpose of the article is to draw a profile of UAE women entrepreneurs along with their characteristics. In addition, the article makes effort to give an outline of the makeup of the entrepreneurial businesses of the UAE women (Itani et al, 2009). Furthermore, the article strives to identify some of the barriers that UAE entrepreneurial women often encounter at the launch of their businesses. Finally, the case study article focuses on the entrepreneurial motivations and driving forces, along with satisfactions and frustrations of the UAE entrepreneurial women.
In its findings, the article observes that the women seem to encounter no conflicts between their personal, family, social, leisure, friendship lives and their entrepreneurial life. It is also recommended in the case study article that there is need to put in place an appropriate institutional framework with the collaboration of the supporters of the UAE women entrepreneurs so as to identify business opportunities that are available for women. It is further suggested that there should be adequate financial as well as management training that would serve to benefit the corporate women from the Middle East region.
The Problem and Methodology of the article
The problem that the article seeks to address is the issue of the profile of the female Emirati entrepreneur in the corporate world. It is observed that the number of female business people in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is on a rapid rise despite their population that is still less that 10 percent of the total population. It is also argued that the active participation of women in the UAE economy was reduced in the years following the discovery of oil in the 1970s (Itani et al, 2009).
Female empoyment outside the home is termed as a new concept in the UAE society thus they are only allowed in those capacities that do not conflict with their traditional roles. It also the opinion of the article that the UAE traditions require for certain levels of gender segregation in the workplace and women often let go their careers after marriage or after giving birth. Majority of the women work in the public sector, mostly in education and health.
The methodology of the study was an interview-based qualitative method. Structured interviews were done with 16 women entrepreneurs (only self-employed UAE citizens) within a two-month period in 2005. Assistance came from the Emirates Business Council. Interviews were done in Arabic by a female researcher. Documentation of the open-ended responses were later translated into English.
Results/solution/recommendation
13 out of 16 (majority) of the women got their startup capita from personal savings while half of interviews identified lack of startup capital as main barrier. Majority of the women said that they were running their first ever business. The government assistance being afforded to women entrepreneurs was attributed to the recent rising number of startups. 12 of the startups were small with less than 10 employees. The annual revenues of 12 of the startups did not exceed Dhs250,000 (about US$68,000).
The entrepreneurial motivations of the UAE women was found not to be economic motivations rather for self-fulfillment. As such they are out to prove themselves, be independent, or be own bosses. 40 percent of the interviewees identified the need to balance work and family for opting for self-employment because of the flexibility it offers (Itani et al, 2009). The females were noted to be career minded because they showed the profile of female entrepreneurs keen at pursuing their career but also wary about balancing familial and social obligations. The participants gave a variety of coping strategies including employing househelps, setting better priorities and time management, involving men and family members in family responsibilities, and seeking help of employees. The women were found to be greatly lacking in time for oneself. 13 out of 16 respondents said they had satisfaction in their ventures.
It was recommended that government should make its women support efforts known to the public, appropriate institutional framework with those supporting the UAE women entrepreneurs be established, and there is need to advance the definition, in the UAE context, of an entrepreneur through regular data collection (Itani et al, 2009).
Critique of the article
I did not like the article in its representation of the profile of the Emirati female entrepreneur. This is because I noted a number of discrepancies with the facts expressed in it together with lots of stereotypes pertaining to the United Arab Emirates itself.
My foremost reason to return a negative return on the case study on the major discrepancy in terms of the wealth situation of the UAE women. The article contradicts itself when it first notes that it is in UAE culture for families to have a lot of wealth which translates to the ability to have great personal savings. Then later on the article gives lack of startup capital as one of the major reasons given by the interviewed UAE female entrepreneurs for their inability to venture into the corporate world.
Similarly, the wealth opinion is a stereotype in itself (Walker, 2010). Giving an assumption of this nature and therefore alluding that “money is not a problem” to the people of the United Arab Emirates becasuse of the oil money, is an abuse to the very people that the researchers sought the study from. It would have been prudent for the researchers to resist the temptation to generalize facts and instead check such parameters as the spread of wealth in the region, and thus the economical status of the average UAE business woman.
Furthermore, I did not find sufficient empirical evidence on the reasons as to why United Arab Emirates females opt to become entrepreneurs as well how much support they receive from with their personal social network – those people to whom the female entrepreneurial have direct relations with. Similarly, the article also fails to give comparative statistics of the profile of the female entrepreneurs from countries that neighbor the United Arab Emirates. Furthermore, I was disappointed with the fact that there is scarce mention of the role of men in both the work and personal from of the Emirati business women that were sampled in the study. This was particularly disappointing owing to the known truth that men in those parts of the world have a greater stake in the lives of women, both at professional or private levels (Walker, 2010).
In citing the barriers that the UAE women face in putting and running a business, the article failed my expectations because it did not delve enough into the impediments caused by religious and cultural beliefs that characterize the UAE society. It is known to all and sundry that UAE society is a highly conservative one and thus their women seeking to establish themselves in the corporate world are often frowned upon by the bulk of the society, both women and men (Schulte-Peevers, 2010). Disappointingly, the article paints a rosy picture of the status of the Emirati entrepreneur women which is contrary to the truth on the ground.
Furthermore, I found the recommendations given in the article as irrelevant considering that most of them do not serve to address a present problem faced by the Emirati female entrepreneurs. For instance, I find it totally misplaced the suggestion that there is need for the UAE government to carry out a public awareness program on its support efforts to women in business. This stems from the fact that it is clear to all that the UAE government has stepped it efforts since 2000 to create a conducive and supportive business environment for women (Fielden, 2010). In my considered opinion, the article would have done better to explore real impediments to the rise of the Emirati business women and in effect provide practical and viable solutions to them.
References:
Fielden, L. Sandra. (2010). International Research Handbook on Successful Women Entrepreneurs. UK, Edward Elgar Publishing.
Itani, Hanifa, Sidani, M., Yusuf, & Baalbaki, Imad. (2009). United Arab Emirates female
entrepreneurs: motivations and frustrations . Retrieved from www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm .
Schulte-Peevers, Andrea. (2010). Dubai. Melbourne, Lonely Planet.
Walker, Jenny, & Butler, Stuart. (2010). Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula. Melbourne, Lonely Planet.
