Arab changing to the new waves

Changing Omani Business Environment

Empowering Women

The Global world is changing so is Oman, the Sultanate of Oman a key country in GCC with a great business environment and great living standards is changing rapidly with new Expat work force rules in place which doesn't allows expat to hop jobs, the new stream of Woman workforce is ready to take the challenge forward.

The number of working Omani mothers in both the private sector and the government has more than quadrupled to 40,000 from 8,000 since 1980's, according to statistics from the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Civil Service.

This increase is due to the rising numbers of women enrolling in higher education in universities and colleges. The number of Omani females attending private schools has doubled since 2008, according to the National Centre of Statistics and Information (NCSI). The NCSI says the total number of Omani females studying at school in the 2013/2014 school year was 45,346 compared with 17,218 four years previously. 

The Stats released from the Ministry of Higher Education show that more than 60 + percent of students studying for degrees or diplomas are women, including those abroad. 

The increase of working Omani mothers can also be attributed to a change in attitudes towards a women’s role in the household. The increased opportunities and need of skilled manpower in Oman.

Opinion’s that mother’s roles are limited to just being married and raising children are becoming far less frequent. “Parents of women now put emphasis for men who propose marriage that their daughters will not be housewives but equal partners with careers of their own, unlike the days when a man could force his wife to quit her job and stay at home".

Men’s opinions of their spouses working in Oman are also changing, with extra pay every month becoming more favorable. It was thought that women should be staying at home with children, but thanks to more of them being graduates, they have the credentials to work in professional sectors and make a difference to their household budgets. 

Child psychologists say that working mothers can still be close to their children, with the availability of summer camps and child or toddler groups providing a way for kids to improve their social skills. 

Over a decade, the number of Omani women working in the public sector more than doubled to 68,200 in 2014. During the same period, the number of Omani women working in the private sector trebled to 35,248. 

According to the NCSI, the number of Omani women holding top management, middle management and direct management positions within the Public Sector rose by 50 per cent since 2008. At the end of 2012, Omani women accounted for approximately 10 per cent of all senior public sector roles in the country. With women making up 51 per cent of the country’s population, this is a good starting figure, which is likely to only increase.

The recent technologically advantages and advent of new media is creating new opportunities for both classes and hence the Omani Manpower and Women workers are on rise.