Qatari women chided for not seizing good job opportunities
Originally published in Gulf Times on February 8, 2008
QATARI women need to stop wasting opportunities that are increasingly becoming available to them, Social Development Centre (SDC) general manager Amal al-Mannai said yesterday.
“They are being resilient for no apparent reason,†al-Mannai told Gulf Times on the sidelines of the â€کTrust Pillar’ workshop of GSDP and World Bank.
According to her, women in Qatar enjoy relatively more freedom compared to some of the other countries in the region, in that they can hold jobs, own businesses and are allowed to be independent.
When asked if Qatar should promote an â€کequal opportunity’ environment, al-Mannai said: “My idea of equal opportunity is different than that of the Western world’s. If a woman with requisite competency turns down a good job in Qatar, I see no reason why it can’t be offered to a male. I think jobs should be based on merit and not genders.â€
Earlier, in her presentation, al-Mannai spoke about the role of SDC in â€کbuilding stable and self-sufficient families that contribute to the community development’ in Qatar.
“After undergoing a huge transformation in the last 10 years, Qatar is ready for change. And if that comes in the form of a knowledge-based economy (KBE), then it will be a great change,†she said.
However, al-Mannai did question some possible fallouts of having a KBE: “We want to know how much the KBE will have an impact on our values?
“Are the strategies built on the experiences of other countries dissimilar to ours? And what if while focusing on KBE, we lose our concentration on other pertinent issues?â€
She also recommended that first and foremost step should be the preparation of the social ground before any KBE-related steps are initiated.
“I also want to emphasise that once on the track of becoming a KBE, it will be every one’s job to participate, with no exclusions. Only â€کpractical’ networking by all parties can make any campaign successful, and not the kind that is â€کdiscussed’ in meetings,†she added.
Responding to the points raised by her, the KBE-experts from the World Bank said: “The trust pillar, that includes the leadership, national vision, dialogue, social cohesion and cultural values is one of the most critical pillar (or category) of the KBE programmeâ€, while urging for an open discussion of social issues.
As Published
