Case Study: Women Empowerment Takes Wings in UAE Aviation

The aviation industry is among the fastest-growing economic sectors in the United Arab Emirates. As a result, the aviation industry provides the Emirates with vast job opportunities for socio-economic development, and women should strive to take advantage to achieve personal and career development goals. Fortunately, as shown in the case study, Emirati women have benefited greatly from the vast opportunities in the growing aviation industry. The UAE government has taken an active role in empowering women to take up opportunities and high-level positions in the aviation industry through various strategies.

These strategies can be analyzed by applying different theoretical concepts. First, the aviation sector is dominated by males, which is why females often disregard the idea of working in the field. The UAE leadership sought to increase the interest and participation of women through encouragement and showing great confidence in the capabilities of women to navigate the aviation sector and even hold senior positions. Moreover, the concept of diversity of management in organizational behavior can help in understanding the challenges faced by women in this sector and the importance of the identified strategy in improving their interest and participation. The concept of diversity focuses on the similarity or differences between individuals. Diversity is characterized by such factors as age, race, gender, religion, physical abilities, and sexual orientation. Diversity can affect organizational behaviors, which is why different strategies are applied to manage the issue of diversity effectively. Moreover, discrimination occurs if the management of diversity is ineffective. The limited participation of UAE women in the aviation industry can be linked to discrimination such as exclusion, while women are intentionally or unintentionally deprived of opportunities in this sector. The government’s intervention of encouragement and showing confidence in the capabilities of women will help in addressing this diversity challenge and ensure policies that provide equal opportunities without discrimination on the basis of gender. Therefore, understanding the concept of diversity and discrimination, and how it affects organizational behavior has been important in shaping the implementation of appropriate strategies by the UAE government.

In 2011, Etihad Airways showed a great commitment while helping the government in its pursuit of increasing the local female workforce in the aviation sector. The company employed five Emirati female pilots and founded the Emirates Aviation College, which would offer women opportunities to gain knowledge on different aviation-related courses, which, in turn, would allow them to participate in the aviation sector. The UAE government supported this initiative by offering females interested in the aviation sector with academic aid. Thus, the concept of motivation in organizational behavior can help in understanding the importance of this strategy. Motivation is defined as the desire and will of an individual to engage in a certain behavior or in performing a specific task. Herzberg’s motivation theory suggests different factors that an organization can change to influence employees’ motivation in the workplace. These factors are classified as motivating factors, namely intrinsic elements that increase satisfaction and hygiene factors, and extrinsic elements that can cause dissatisfaction in the workplace if not well-managed. The UAE government initiatives have been aimed at improving the motivating factors for women to join the aviation sector, by recognizing them as important in the field and by providing academic aid, which offers them opportunities for advancement and growth in this career, for example. The hygiene factors, such as company policy, working conditions, job security, and salary and benefit, will also be provided by Etihad Airways, which is working with the government in ensuring that the goal of increasing the local female workforce in the aviation sector is achieved. Therefore, the concept of motivation in organizational behavior has been pivotal to the strategies utilized by the government.

Save your time!
We can take care of your essay

• Proper editing and formatting
• Free revision, title page, and bibliography
• Flexible prices and money-back guarantee

Place Order

In improving the participation of women in the UAE aviation sector, the government has focused on creating a shift in the management in the field. The government initiated the Emiratization campaign, which was important in enhancing the participation of women in aviation, as the campaign involved two leading airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways. The government has also supported Women in Aviation (WAI), which is a US-based aviation organization that operates in the UAE by enhancing and highlighting the role of resident females in the aviation industry. The organization achieves its intended goals by offering academic, financial, and vocational aid to UAE women who are passionate about a career in the aviation sector. The collaboration between the government, companies such as Emirates and Etihad Airways, and the WAI, has created a shift towards the UAE witnessing a growth in the participation of females in the aviation sector, and a significant rise in the number of females joining academic institutions to attend aviation-related courses.

The competing values framework is important in understanding individual and such organizational phenomena as organizational culture and can be used in explaining the appropriateness of the strategy adopted by the UAE government collaborating with airways and WAI. The framework has four dimensions, and the first dimension is referred to as CLAN, which focuses on the achievement of long-term change. According to this dimension, change is achieved through collaboration, namely while the leader acts as a facilitator and team-builder. In turn, the collaboration is aimed at achieving human development and high commitment as means of producing effectiveness. The framework, suggested activities, and outcomes of the first dimension are mirrored in the strategy adopted by the government. The government act as a facilitator for the UAE to achieve the goal of improving the participation of females in the aviation sector, while collaboration with Etihad, Emirates, and WAI has been essential in achieving this goal. Moreover, human development is achieved through the academic aid opportunities provided by WAI and the UAE, while the airways show a high commitment to this goal by offering employment opportunities to women. A cultural change is being observed in the UAE as a consequence of this collaboration, namely more women are participating in the aviation sector and seeking aviation-related education to prepare for involvement in the field nowadays.

Training and education comprise a widely used empowerment strategy. The approach entails providing people with the required knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to participate in advanced activities and professional areas. Additionally, education and training boost people’s confidence since they feel adequately equipped to be highly willing to take up various challenges and professional jobs (Kouzes