Emiratisation

Diversity appears to be a management topic all over the world. Usually it means having or striving to have a diverse workforce, i.e. including different "sorts" of people. In Germany, some companies I know mainly discuss women's career opportunities under this label. As far as I know, it is a slightly broader concept in the US, also entailing different races. Here in Dubai, one related topic appears to be "Emiratisation".

This means that the government is trying to increase the number of nationals working in companies active here. The officials have an "Emiratisation plan" which, as far as I understood, requires companies to hire a certain number of UAE nationals. Someone claimed this, in some cases, leads to nationals being hired for the sole purpose of fulfilling the quota. And there's an annual award by the Emirates Institute of Banking & Financial Studies (EIBFS) recognising companies for their efforts regarding Emiratisation, and a special national career exhibition. So is is little surprise that companies bend over backwards to proof their good corporate citizenship by also offering special career opportunities for Emiratis. So this is why I drafted a press release for a major bank in Dubai today announcing the bank's participation in the fair as well as their winning the EIBFS award.

What we expect is: the Arabic media could be interested. The English ones probably less. Because everyone is going out with the same messages. It's a bit like saying you're a global leader in your field and offer exciting career opportunities for high potentials, producing innovative products for sustainable growth, at the end of the day.