39-year-old Anna Serdean is an Interior Architect from Finland. “I’m the person who deals with all the interior parts of the building. I advise them on how to divide the space, and I help with finishes, even going as far as finding the right furniture.” Anna has been an expat for about 12 years, working in the UK before moving to Doha in 2004 for what was originally intended to be a short contract. She’s worked on several high profile projects here, including the Aspire Zone and the Q-Tel tower. Suzan Mohamed, 37, is an Egyptian Civil Engineer. She arrived in Doha in 2005 a single woman, but met up with a family friend in Doha, and fell in love. Her husband is also an engineer. She’s had several roles in Qatar. “I was the design manager at Lusail for five years and I’ve also worked on projects in Bahrain, Dubai and Saudi,” she tells me. “I started as a senior design engineer and eventually became a project manager.” Just the tone with which these women describe their roles speaks volumes about the pride they have in their careers. “I love my work”, says Suzan. “I did actually try stopping work for a bit once. But my husband actually encouraged me to go back to work – he said that I was such an active person, I’d go crazy staying at home all day!” Anna’s career, meanwhile, has been, in her own words, “eventful”. “I’ve had several detours,” she says, laughing. “I’ve never gone for the safest option. Instead, I find myself taking a job where I feel I can get some new skills or experience. And also of course while I was in London the financial situation wasn’t great, so I’ve been made redundant more than once. You just have to be resourceful so that you find another job before the money runs out.” Melanie Robson’s induction into the world of construction started early. “My father runs a building firm, so I grew up with it. I wanted to be a builder when I was five, but my father thought there were possibly better professions for me! I worked with him on site when I was younger”. Accustomed to the challenges of being a woman in a man’s world, she joined NAWIC while she was working in the UK. Upon her arrival in Doha, she recognised that the region was crying out for a similar organisation, so in 2009, the NAWIC Middle East branch was
born. “Construction in the Gulf Region is a heavily male-orientated profession, and in some aspects it feels like the UK 30 years ago,” says Melanie. “So the group is an invaluable resource for women who want to network and receive support in a way that was automatic in their previous lives.” The group has a full programme, with coffee evenings, seminars and site visits planned. Melanie says its membership is growing. “People have been surprised by how many women we have on the database – we have 40 at the moment. I went to a coffee evening last week, and there were ten women there I hadn’t met before.”
I think that companies only employ women here if they can’t find a man with the skills for the job. Personally, I think women in construction are better than men! We’re better at time management and multi-tasking
COPING WITH CHALLENGES One of Melanie’s key areas of concern is the lack of part-time jobs for women in Qatar. “Many women are here as a result of their husband’s work, but that doesn’t mean they have no knowledge or experience to offer. Yet they’re prohibited from working by the blanket ruling companies here impose with respect to employing part-time workers – they just won’t generally consider it. Job share would work
brilliantly here. It’s such a shame.” All three women work a six-day week, which is common in many industries in Qatar. Melanie is one of the lucky ones. After initially working full-time, she has managed to renegotiate her contract to work shorter days so that she can pick up her children from school. “We balance our lives with military precision!” she says. “My husband is very supportive of my work, so he tends to share the childcare.” Suzan, meanwhile, says it would be her “dream” to work part-time. Anna is resigned. “It took some getting used to, but now I’m used to it. I wouldn’t say no to a two-day weekend, but these are the terms here”. I ask them whether they’ve ever come up against discrimination in the work place. “In Egypt, no problem, but here, yes,” says Suzan. “I think that companies only employ women here if they can’t find a man with the skills for the job. Personally, I think women in construction are better than men! We’re better at time management and multi-tasking” she says, with a chuckle. “I haven’t had any problems here,” says Anna. “I honestly feel I had more problems in the UK. I once went to a site meeting there, and the guys said “aren’t we going to wait for your boss?” They couldn’t believe I was in charge. But in general, I think it’s easier for me – a lot of people see interior design as “fluffy” in the first place!” Meanwhile Melanie sees a positive side to the male-dominated workplace. “Sometimes it’s quite nice,” she says. “This way, you don’t get any of the issues you find when you’re working with too many women!” One thing all three women agree on is that Doha is an exciting place to be at the moment. “It’s a unique place,” agrees Anna. “It’s in the middle of a big change. In that sense it’s the right place at the right time – we’re ideally positioned to see how a society is changing.” “If you’re going to be an architect anywhere right now, Qatar is the place,” agrees Melanie. “There are so many opportunities here to see designs you would never see anywhere else. We are each, in our own small way, helping a civilisation achieve its aspirations. It’s an exciting, inspiring but also frustrating time.” Anyone interested in joining NAWIC Middle East can visit www.nawic.co.uk and fill in the online application form
2011 November
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