Arab Women Beginning To Crack The Glass Ceiling

posted on: Mar 19, 2009

Just last month and for the first time in history, a Saudi king appointed a woman to his council of ministers. Noor Al-Fayez is the new deputy minister for women’s education in Saudi Arabia, a country where women are still not allowed to drive a car. The astonishing appointment of Al-Fayez, a middle-class woman with no ties to the royal family, startled millions of people.

It also made me wonder what it is like to be such an accomplished woman in the ultimate man’s world — the Arabian Peninsula. For insight I spoke with Hoda Kanoo, founder of the world-class Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Festival that begins its sixth season this Saturday, and Anita Mehra, marketing and communications vice president for Dubai International Airport, one of the fastest growing air hubs on the planet.

Both women surprised me with their observations about working women in the United Arab Emirates, where a surprisingly high number (30 percent) of public-sector management positions are held by women.

Diane Tucker
Huffington Post