(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) As I read the announcement of the resignation of Sayyida Rawan al Said, the CEO of ONIC and the only Omani woman who has achieved that position in a publicly listed company, I was initially disappointed.
Sayyida Rawan is an inspiring role model for Omani women and moreover a great supporter of women.
I am sure over the coming days she will be pursuing better things and will continue as a role model in her personal and professional capacity.
In Oman our laws and regulations give women equal rights, and access to education and employment opportunities, and under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, may Allah protect him, we have seen Omani women rise to the upper echelons of government and political decision-making. On the ground though and in many private sector companies, the reality is ‘the old boys network still prevails'.
There are still less than a handful of women in key positions in major companies as well as on boards and I sometimes wonder with the wave of corruptions cases that we have seen had there been more women in these positions would this have happened? There are many surveys and studies that have actually linked profitability of companies to having more women on boards and in leadership positions.
A quick look at some of the major government-owned companies as well as large companies and one finds less than a handful of Omani women and the same names of Omani men in CEO positions and also on several boards. I sometimes wonder how do some of them have the time to even run their day job.
Women still have to be twice as qualified, work double the time to even get considered for CEO positions and some get frustrated and leave or end up training younger guys who become their bosses.
I have listened to the stories of many ambitious and aspiring women and there is a common trend in all of them:
''I never asked for a promotion. I assumed that with my hard work surely my boss knows that I am capable of bring promoted and deserve to be promoted.''
''I was told that so and so was promoted because as a woman the job would be difficult for you, after all you have a family and will need to travel, and may be called after hours.''
''Yes, we believe women are important especially in marketing and HR but being a CEO or head of operations may be difficult for them.''
The first two excuses are typically from women and the last from men. The message to all women: Stop being the good girl and accepting that your boss will recognise it, they will not! Get out there and ask for the promotion that you deserve, it does not make you less of a person and it is your right.
It is true that men may brand you as pushy, bossy just because they got used to you being the docile and quiet one but in reality they cannot deal with the competition of having a strong woman around.
The message to all men in leadership positions: Start promoting more women and stop stereotyping them into certain roles and capabilities. Women are capable of making their own choices. Start creating an enabling environment for them to grow and this means actually accepting that they will need time off to take care of future generations and this itself is not an excuse to write them off for the rest of their careers.
Stop taking women for granted in the work place; your duty as a leader is to grow and nurture employees and encourage that diversity. Recognise that promoting women means providing them with innovative ways to work that does not interfere with their choices and this is something that women should be applauded for and not penalised.
One company in Oman that is a trailblazer in promoting women is Petroleum Development Oman and I salute them for having several women in leadership positions as well as putting in place a mentorship programme for women within the company.
I hope all companies learn from their experience. Women play a major role and bring in different perspectives to any business. Some leading examples from the USA include Indra Nooyi, CEO, Pepsi, Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, and Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo. Oman has set a great example at the ministerial and ambassadorial level.
However, in the private sector and in middle management in the public sector as well as on the boards of major public owned companies, we can certainly improve. Let us not be fooled by percentages such as having 40 per cent ratio of women in a certain sector; the real issue is at what level are these women?
How many have reached leadership positions? How many are being provided the same opportunities for training, for exposure, for learning as their male counterparts? Happy women's day to all. May it be the start of courageous decisions to promote more wo
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