An Inspiring Speaker:

Yesterday we met with Raja Al Gurg, a well-respected business-woman in the UAE. She began her career as a teacher in the late 70's, and was quickly promoted to principal, a position she held until 1990. At that time, she began the process of taking over her father's 23 companies, with a complete lack of business experience or business education. She utilized a "type y" managerial style to gain the trust and respect of her co-workers and employees, and brought the businesses to increased success, doubling profit in the past year. While her story of success may be seen as the exception rather than the norm, there is much to learn from her strong sense of self and managerial styles, as well as the impact of both gender and culture on her success.

One of the first things evident about Raja Al Gurg is her sense of self. She was neither modest nor arrogant; she knew what she had accomplished, was proud of it, but still knew that she was just one woman. She described herself as one of the country's best principals and bragged about the impact she had on her students' lives, with such honesty it was hard to doubt her. This made it very surprising when she spoke about her father deciding to leave the family business to his children. He asked his two sons and her if they wanted the business, and though she was interested, she kept quiet to let her brothers take it, if they so desired. When they said nothing, she spoke up. This spoke a great deal about the impact of culture in this society, as she said, "I knew my place as a lady." This was shocking, as until that point she had seemed very liberal, and the type of person to not let cultural norms hold her back.

Her discussion of managerial styles was beyond impressive. She spoke of the importance of working at the same level as all of her employees, and discussed a very collaborative environment. "The workers see me as a worker, the managers see me as a manager...They do not work for me, they work with me" She said, many times over. When asked if she had difficulty earning the employees respect, since she entered as a woman with no experience, she said that because she worked with everyone, they saw her as no different from them, and understood that she had taken the time to learn and work her way up. The most impressive thing she said about managing people is that, "The person who says 'I don't know' learns a lot." Having the humility to admit a lack of knowledge, especially when one's in a high-ranking position, can be difficult, but it's the only way to learn. She constantly asked people how to do all aspects of the business, from working in warehouses to reading balance sheets. For several years she avioded making changes, so that she could learn about the business before implementing anything new.

One of the most surprising parts of her story is her gender's lack of impact. Resulting from her abnormal circumstances, she never faced a glass ceiling, she never spoke of any sexual harrassment, or predjuces because she was a woman. It's likely that part of this is because of the Middle Eastern culture. There is a high respect for authority, and because her father left the business to her, that respect was likely transferred to her. The only impact of gender was on her work/home balance, but because of the culture, that too was barely negative. At that time, work days ended at 1:30, the same time her children returned from school, and she was able to be with them every evening. She said,quite frankly, "If I had to do it again starting now, I would not be as successful." She said that the work hour expectations across the globe severly limit the ability to be both a successful businesslady and a successful mother, and if forced with the choice she would choose to be a mother for a very interesting reason. She explained that she considers bringing up a successful family is the basis of a strong society (ingroup collectivism!). Regardless of how many successful companies there are in an area, if there arent well-educated, strong people to be employed and otherwise contribute positively to society, the businesses (and the community) will fail. The question remains, however, how can a society create a working environment that fosters a balance between work and home life for working parents? While company and government initiatives can help, by granting maternity leave allowances or on-site daycare, the UAE needs to first change social norms regarding working women in business-places. In this authoritative society, even if a young lady wants to work and raise a family, if her family disapproves she's not likely to enter the job market.

Culture has played a major role in Raja Al Gurd's rise to success; the many stereotypes about Muslim women have motivated her to work harder to educate others on her culture. One of the most common misconceptions about Muslim women is that they have very few rights. When asked why she wore her Abayaa when speaking in Kentucky, she simply compared herself to a religious figure in Christianity who wears a similar ensamble, the nun. "I look like a nun but I have more rights; I can marry, have children..."

~Meagan George