Bayt.com’s recent 2008 Women in the Middle East Workplace Survey brought many interesting workplace trends to light, not the least of which is the role of the Government as an employer of choice for women in the Middle East.

Several interesting facts emerged about the role of the Government in promoting women’s workplace rights in the Middle East.:-

• The Government as a more equitable payer than the private sector. 49% of government and semi-government institution employees feel they receive equal pay as their male counterparts; versus 43% in internationally owned companies and 34% in locally owned companies.

• The Government as a more equitable promoter than the private sector. 51% of women believe they have an equal chance of being promoted as their male counterparts and/or that their promotability will depend entirely on their hard work not on their gender. This figure is 50% in internationally owned companies and only 44% in locally owned companies.

• The Government as a provider of daycare facilities. 13% of women employed in the public sector have access to employer daycare facilities versus 10% in internationally owned companies and 8% in locally owned companies.

• The Government as a source of ‘fair treatment’ for women. 65% of women respondents from the public sector perceive they receive equal or better treatment as their male colleagues; this is equal to the percentage of women in multinationally owned companies.

• The Government as an employer of women in its senior ranks. 87% of women in the public sector maintain that women already occupy positions in their senior ranks; versus 81% in multinational companies and 69% in locally owned companies.

• The Government as lacking glass ceiling. Only 24% of women in the public sector believe that they cannot progress beyond a certain level in their organizational structure versus 29% in MNCs and 29% in locally owned corporations. Moreover 45% of women in the public sector maintain their gender has not affected their career prospects at all vis-à-vis 41% with MNCs and 43% with locally owned corporations.

While the survey shows plenty of room for improvement across all sectors of the economy, clearly the Government sector across the Middle East has adopted a progressive and enlightened approach vis-à-vis the hiring, promoting and compensation of its women employees. No wonder so many women are gravitating towards this key sector and for that matter the survey shows that these women tend to be more ambitious than the average and more convinced that prospects have substantially improved for women in their country of residence.