Woes of working women

By Arashi Al Ahmed

Professional success is a goal for both men and women, but for the latter it takes on a different aspect, especially if they are married and have children and duties of a housewife to attend to. Some say that success in both these sides of life is impossible and call for the return of working women to the household. Some women have, however, managed to find a balance between their home and working lives, and here they explain how they have achieved it.

Dr. Samiya Al-Amoudi of King Abdulaziz University says that despite her pressing professional duties, she manages to give her full attention to the needs of her children. “Ive found a balance by structuring my priorities, so that I can attend to all my responsibilities and commitments. If, for example, my children are sick, then my priority is to make time and coordinate, and this is an important factor in finding a balance between work and home.”

“The support and help from my family has had a great influence on my success,” Al-Amoudi continues. “And since I am a doctor and an activist in the fight against breast cancer I try to involve my children in my activities, and this helps them realize that they are part of my success, as without their considerable help and their standing by me I wouldnt have been able to get where I am.”

Balancing sacrifices
The supervision of childrens upbringing is, according to Al-Amoudi, a tough task. “The working woman faces a lot of difficulties,” she says. “She has to make a lot of sacrifices involving personal and social concessions for the sake of her family and children. You wont find a successful working woman who is also a successful mother to her children without her having made concessions of some sort in her social life.”

Muna Abu Soleiman is famous for her work in the media, notably as a presenter of a popular chat show on MBC satellite channel. “I think Ive achieved a degree of success in finding the balance between work and bringing up my daughters,” Soleiman says. “When they were young I chose to teach at university as it allowed me to give them the sort of care they needed at the time, and when they got older and were able to depend on themselves more I was able to give my work more of my attention and make great strides, all of which reflects on both me and my daughters.”

“You need to be very careful as a working woman with young children, as it is an extremely important juncture in their upbringing and there can be a heavy price to pay if you are not there for them.” Soleiman says, “So you need to find work that doesnt make too many demands on your time or your energy which are needed at home.

“Most girls these days,” Soleiman continues, “have university degrees or higher and so wont be working in relatively simple jobs such as sewing. Todays girls have been through higher education and speak different languages all of which qualifies them for work in very demanding areas. It remains for everyone to find some sort of flexibility over the issue and to help everyone achieve success and happiness.”

Nojoud Al-Ghamdi, who works for a public relations firm, is optimistic that that is happening. “The situation for Saudi women has improved a lot recently,” Al-Ghamdi says, “and weve overcome a lot of the barriers erected by society, and Im referring to university education and beyond, and learning foreign languages which is a requirement for the job market,” she says. “And of course no girl will accept a post that doesnt correspond to the qualifications she has worked so hard to acquire.”

“A quick overview of working Saudi women today shows that they are able to accomplish achievements both at work and at home, and the long hours spent at the office working hard have enabled them to reach a high level of standing, but personally if I had to choose between work and home I would choose home, since this is every womans natural and innate place,” she says.

Guilty feelings
Broadcaster Maha Shalbi admits to having to make occasional readjustments. “A clever woman tries to harmonize with the fast rhythm of the times and reconcile her work with the demands of her husband and family in general, but to be honest I have to confess that sometimes I feel I have let my family down and that leaves me feeling guilty, especially when my husband has to hint that somethings amiss,” Shalbi says. “When that happens I reorganize myself and take stock and make sure that my priorities are not getting confused.”

“I try to make up for any time I spend at work with time for my son to play with him and see to his needs, to make sure that he never feels my absence,” she says.

“The wife is her husbands partner in all paths and aspects of life,” says Dr. Rana Al-Sabagh, an organ transplant coordinator with three children, “and professional success is not just for men. I try to concentrate on the quality, not the quantity, of the time I spend with my children. I also think my children need a role model and someone to look up to in addition to support, so that they can develop their strengths and learn to depend on themselves.”

Women are better than men
Amal Khalid, who works in marketing and public relations, says the myth that a working woman cannot lead a successful home life perpetuates a derogatory view of women in working society. “I dont wish to be biased, but women are better at work than men, but how are we to proceed when the job market is bossed by men? Most bosses welcome unmarried women into their businesses as they are dedicated to their work and are prepared to work long hours, but still they give men greater privileges as they see them as having more experience and ability. They think that women, however well they perform in their work, still only have a quarter of the competence of men. This is obviously untrue, and from my own personal experience I would say that women are more competent in their work, and show greater experience and motivation, even those who are also responsible for large families.”

Hana Al-Rukabi, a broadcaster, says that it is plain to everyone that women have succeeded in finding a balance between work and home and that it has also influenced people both socially and in their thinking. “Thats a strong indicator of the importance of the womans role in the family and her influence on peoples upbringings, as well as her desire to take part in the building of new generations,” Al-Rukabi says. “Women represent half of society, and are also responsible for bringing up the other half, and their success in balancing their home and work lives affects the productivity of society as a whole and the process of stability and development.”

“My husband has been a huge support for me,” she says, “and deserves great credit for my success and for me getting to where I am today. At the same time I look after my family and domestic affairs, because if I were a failure in my role as a mother and wife then I wouldnt be able to succeed in any other aspect of my life.”

Talal Al-Nashiri, a sociologist says: “Womens success and their role in society is no less than that of men, and they can be exceptional in some areas.”

The rights of working women are virtually ignored, she said, “but despite that they continue to work diligently and courageously to achieve successful home and working lives, assuming twice the burden. When women take on that double burden it has positive social and economic effects by increasing a womans standing and giving her a role as a mover and shaker in society.”

Women are not allowed to be employed in positions that involve hazardous work. They are also not permitted to work night shifts of longer than 11 hours. Employers are obliged to provide medical care for female employees during and after pregnancy as well as provide designated places of rest at work for all female employees.