Multicultural companies are great companies, experts say

Dubai - Companies would be well advised to take advantage of the diversity of backgrounds, languages and skills available

Having a multicultural workforce - particularly of women of diverse backgrounds - can give companies and organisations an added advantage when dealing with customers or business partners throughout the world, according to local employment experts.
Helen McGuire, the co-founder and managing director of Hopscotch - which seeks to help women, particularly those who have taken a time off, to get back into the workforce - noted that many talented women are currently out in the workforce.
"Specifically in this region, we live with such a diverse population. What we found is that women who come over with their husbands or have children feel very excluded from the work force, and are not able to go back part-time because of family commitments," she said. "The UAE has the highest, most educated female population anywhere in the world, as per the World Bank, but the employment rate is actually half that. It doesn't take a mathematician to work out what's been lost in the workforce."
McGuire noted that companies would be well advised to take advantage of the diversity of backgrounds, languages and skills available among the women in the UAE.
"By including them, you are automatically doubling the skill set that you have available in this region," she said. "The benefits are fairly obvious. Many regional headquarters are based here, so you can have people with the backgrounds and languages that you need to communicate with the local offices.
"Work gets done more quickly, and you have an understanding of how things work, she said. "What works in Lebanon might not work in Saudi Arabia."
Giving an example, McGuire noted that having employees of a certain nationality can help foreigners navigate the often complex and varied social interactions they might encounter while conducting business in other countries.
"When I moved here, for example, I wasn't aware of all the cultural differences when working in a country like Saudi (Arabia)," she said. "The benefit is that you learn very quickly. Do you shake hands? Do you not? Do you kiss on a cheek, or do three kisses even? It can obviously give the wrong impression if you do the wrong thing."

One woman's experiences