DIFI expert shines spotlight on empowering young women and improving the work life balance during key online seminar with rota/eaa

Doha International Family Institute’s (DIFI) commitment to achieving an important goal of empowering young women through enhanced work-family balance policies was given more traction when it participated at a major online seminar organized by Reach Out To Asia/Education Above all (ROTA/EAA).

DIFI’s Family Policy Director, Khalid Al Naama, delivered a keynote address at the webinar. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Gender Equality was spotlighted, with Mr. Al Naama focusing on the concept of working towards the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate. DIFI recognize the importance of implementing policies and programs that champion families and provide cohesive and supportive environments in which they can prosper.

Linked with this is the important idea of empowering young women through workforce participation, and Mr. Al Naama also addressed this issue. DIFI has developed a report on ‘Comparative Analysis of Gender Equality in Social Welfare in Qatar, Kuwait and Oman’. This has provided a conceptual and empirical study of the gender gaps in policies of social welfare and pay in those three Gulf nations. The report concluded that women have managed to achieve remarkable progress – especially in education – but such achievements were not matched by an equivalent level of participation in the labor market.

Mr. Al Naama also highlighted DIFI’s drive towards improving work-family balance policies, including extended parental leave times, the introduction of childcare facilities in workplaces and flexible working arrangements. All three factors would be of immense benefit to women who would like to have a professional working career alongside their usual household responsibilities, DIFI argue.