Loading ...Ted Talks: 3 Lessons On Success From An Arab Businesswoman
Jeff Thomas
CCT News
It is crystal clear that professional Arab women are tasked with juggling quite a number of tasks compared to their male counterparts. In fact, everyday they have to face cultural rigidity as compared to women who live in the west. Their success is a story to learn from especially in regard to their tenacity, prioritization, managing ferocious competition, not to mention their entire progress.
Leila Hoteit is a trained engineer by profession, senior partner at B.C.G, tasked with heading education and human capital department in the entire Middle East. Her career spans well over 13 years in management consulting industry. She is an ardent advocate of women rights, an authority in employment and culture, and also, spearheads women education and empowerment in NEMA. A region that has been dogged with entrenched societal issues that negatively affect women. Dr. Hoteit is also a mother of two little children, living and working in Abu Dhabi. She shares the 3 important lessons on how to thrive in this modern world-as a woman.
Education, Resilience, and role models
She vividly states that education was a priority reserved for the male child (days when she was growing up). Her unique case of being the first born in her family with no son to her father, created an environment making her automatically her father’s ‘son’. And for this reason, her father consistently encouraged her and her sister to pursue education to higher levels-despite the cultural odds at that particular point in time.
Dr. Hoteit reiterates by saying that her mother’s generation had totally nothing to do with professional work. As such, there was always pressure from different spheres of life with a society that strongly believes that a woman’s life is at home. It was all about having happy children, happy husband, and you become a good mother.
The women who pursued education at that particular time had to be their own role models. There were some men who encouraged the female students, though. She points out the fact that the western woman like to give piece of advice to Arab women, not having in mind that their environmental challenges, constraints and lives, are relatively different from what the Arab woman faces in their everyday life.
Family
It is vital that you as the Arab woman maintains perfect, or near perfect home having the best interest of your children at heart. At the same time, she should maintain her focus and not compromise her career in anyway. This is where your professional skills must be applied to your personal life. In her case, DR. Hoteit says that she counters this problem by domestic help that is affordable, focused, and willing to support her family. Importantly, she sets time for her family every evening where she can be with the young ones and take care of their psychological and emotional needs.
Networking
Despite having the lion’s share of responsibilities back at home. The Arab woman has learnt to strike a balance between her career and family. In her generation, there was little chance for them to been in public and this explains the limited number of women politicians in the Arab world. Nevertheless, they sharpened their social skills in sitting rooms, coffee shops, and over the phones. As such, many of the career women managed to develop better networking skills that have come in handy in their career development.
It is now acknowledged that women have realized by helping each other, only can they beat a patriarchal society that is stooped against them.
Source: www.cctnews.com