Women in

Safety –

Working in UAE

Karthi Kanakarajan CMIOSH

Disclaimer statement

– Opinion/Views shared here are purely based on my working experience with an

aim to motivate peers in the field of safety.

Myself –

Karthikaipavai Kanakarajan in

short Karthi

– Married 27 years ago, Two daughters

– Working Since 1989. Place of work in India, UK (few months), here in UAE from 2005

– Devotional

– Hardworking (I believe)

– Love to take challenges and travel

– Willing to learn ( sometimes small kids also show new ideas/different approach)

– Volunteer – Al Ishan Society, UAE

– Veolia Role model for Gender diversity promotion of Girls on the Move initiative by Elles Bougent, USA

Myself trekking at Mt. Kailash 6,638 m (21,778 ft)

My family

My Career Progression

OHS Manager

• Since 4th May 2014 ,Moalajah Fzc, UAE

QHSE Consultant

• Freelancer, India & UAE

QHSE Systems Manager

• Ajman , UAE

QHSE Coordinator

• Moved to UAE in 2005

• Abu Dhabi , UAE

Systems Coordinator

• India

Faculty then Principal

• Started in 1989 India

Do you love your job?

Is it a Choice or Passion?

For me, its passion

Why did I choose health and

safety as a career?

– Fundamental of this field is protection of people

&

– Feel empowered to do things differently and

challenge it

My association with IOSH

Joined in as Grad IOSH in Jun 2015

June 2015

Started my journey to CMIOSH in September 2015

•Kept myself target of six months.

Sep. 2015

Completed all IPD and EOA by Mar 2016

Mar. 2016

Peer Review completed in Aug 2016 and became CMIOSH

Aug. 2016

Joined in the branch committee during 2017 –2018 as Executive Committee Member

2017–2018

Become peer review panel member in 2018

2018

So far 2 Peer Review done & the journey continues

2019

Why IOSH?

– Recognition

– Opportunity to connect with like minded people

– Great opportunity to contribute to the profession and grow

General issues faced by working

woman

Safety, Kids, Meetings, Socializing, Audit, Site visit, Cooking, training, IOSH CPD, housekeeping, Compliance ,

family , team, laundry , career growth, savings & future etc.…

To avoid general issues faced by

working woman - deal it separately

Family, Kids, Socializing, Cooking,

housekeeping , laundry , savings &

future etc.…

Safety, Meetings, Audit, Site visit,

training, IOSH CPD, Compliance , team,

career growth etc.…

Issues of Women working in the

field of Safety

– Perception of men

– Acceptance of suggestions

– Field work (mostly men)

– Restroom

– Communication

– Mind set of Women(emotional) and Men(logical)

2 things which will determine

career opportunities

– Company cultureIf your company have a great gender equality policy and leadership commitment,

it will provide a very good environment for the female employees to advance.

– Personal attitude– However, I think equally important is the personal habits/attitude that women

have especially working as professional in Asia

3 key habits which I believe can help to build a

successful and strong path for the working

ladies

– Have a sufficient sleep

ensure you have sufficient sleep so that physically

you are energized for the day

– Be Proactive

what I meant is to take initiatives to do things in the job.

– Be Resourceful

I like this word personally and this word doesn't mean you need to have many resources but how you utilize the resources you have

Working in UAE

OR

Advantages of Working in UAE

LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES

INFRASTRUCTURE CONNECTIVITY SAFETY OF WOMEN

DIVERSE NATIONALITIES

Working in UAE

CLIMATE GENDER BALANCE IN THE FIELD OF SAFETY

COMMUNICATION KNOWLEDGE LEVEL / COMPETENCY

FAMILY COMMITMENT AS AN EXPAT

NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

STRESS

How to deal it?

– Deal it with the best ornament of a female

Secret is SMILE

Self confidence – Equip your self with the right knowledge, qualifications , professional membership like IOSH

Motivate - learn to motivate yourself and others with your caring attitude

Innovate – its key , bring some wow factor to your work, Have critical thinking, challenge the status quo

Leader – be a leader and team player.

Engage – engage yourself / your team / family. Remain human and start with simple goals

Is it possible to manage profession and family

successfully?

YES. With a little bit of hard work and time management we can be successful both in profession and personal life.

Thank you for

your attention