Keeping On Culture

Socially and in the business world, times are changing for the United Arab Emirates. Women are now holding top positions and gaining respect from male co-workers.

According to the Dubai Women Establishment (DWE), 66 percent of the public sector workers are women. And 30 percent of their jobs are in senior posts.

Christine Wilcox recently visited Abu Dhabi for a screening of the movie Miss Representation.

“We consciously wore pant suits that covered our legs and arms while working; but, the men did not seem to mind us not wearing abayas. We were treated with respect and welcomed kindly into the country,” Wilcox tells PINK.

Karen House, Pulitzer Prize-winning former publisher of The Wall Street Journal and author of On Saudi Arabia, found that, at her Dubai hotel she could wear shorts and lounge by the pool in traditional Western garb.

When it came to walking around town, House says, “the hotel advised to wear pants and conservative shirts in the old bazaar downtown area.”

Western women traveling to Dubai for work don’t appear to have anything to fear – so long as they are respectful of the culture.

On occasion women outside tourist areas in Dubai, have been fined and even arrested for getting drunk in public or cursing the government or religion.

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By Daryl Chapman

“To wear your heart on your sleeve isn’t a very good plan; you should wear it inside, where it functions best.” Margaret Thatcher