Business

Kramer: Entrepreneurship, startups help to bring gender equality in Middle East

Middle-Eastern women are showing the world two things: that they can perform as well as men as entrepreneurs and that they are capable of far more than being victims of institutionalized sexism.

In 2013, a new product called Instabeat hit the market. Often called the “Google Glass of goggles,” Instabeat attaches to the goggles of a swimmer and monitors the wearer’s heart rate in real time.

It’s on par with the likes of Nike and Fitbit’s wearable fitness technology, but Instabeat came from the mind of Hind Hobeika, a female entrepreneur operating out of Lebanon. And she’s not alone— the Economist speculated in a July 13 article that a sparkling 35 percent of those starting their own internet-based businesses in the Middle East are women, contrasting with a sad-looking 21 percent average for females in the rest of employment in that region.

With the emirate of Dubai leading the way, Arab entrepreneurs (of both genders) have a chance to develop their ideas, acquire funding and launch businesses — many of which are internet-based — in a turbulent environment that could use some problem-solving. The Economist called it a “startup-spring.”

Women of the Middle East getting to participate in this tech boom is a wonderful and terrifically exciting sight to see, and it isn’t an isolated event. Women across the Middle East are finding it much easier to participate in the digital age because they can stay at home and start a business from their computer, an occurrence that was unprecedented in a society where men have always been holding all the cards.



One company named the Oasis 500, is helping develop digital startups in Jordan, with a surprising amount being from women. The Wall Street Journal reported on April 12, 2012 that, “while 25 percent of applications to its program come from women, 40 percent of those accepted are female.” So they are involved in business at a lower rate than men but are showing that they are potentially even more innovative.

While it is encouraging to see these trends develop, it’s disheartening that it took so long. Middle East Voices, a news website, showed in an April 17 article that “Arab women outperform men even in the hard sciences,” even as college graduate rates between the two genders remain equal.

The truth is that even though times are changing, Middle Eastern governments have remained largely the same in many ways. Their outdated laws subjugate females, allow for harassment and domestic violence and bar women from many of the liberties that men possess.

But any sort of progress can change things quickly. The widespread success of women in the Middle East will be an accomplishment in itself one day, but its role as an allegory for the empowerment of women all around the globe will be even more crucial. If governments in developing countries set their women free, they will be accessing untapped seas of talent and potential that could transform the world.

While there is plenty of optimism for the future of gender equality in the Middle East, a long road still lies ahead.  But if the resilience and courage Arab women have shown thus far is any indication of what they will do in the future, then the future looks bright.

Phil Kramer is a freshman advertising and marketing management major. His column appears weekly. You can reach him at [email protected] and on Twitter at @PhilipWKramer

 





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