Now that we’re past the Eid holiday break, and everyone is back to work, I finally got my official job offer! I’m still working out some important details, like HOW I’m going to get to the office since I can't legally to drive. Minor details. I’ll start working for Starcom, on STC (Saudi Telcom Company) and likely support other Publicis Companies and client teams. Really thankful this is finally coming together so I can have an income again!
It was timely that the offer came through as there was a client meeting on Thursday that my boss wanted me to attend. Like many companies, especially tech, you have to request a visitor badge before arriving. STC is even more unique because for women, even those from vendors/agencies they have contracted relationships, we need to apply for a new badge for every visit. Most requests require 48-72 hour notice; my request was sent with 18 hours. And yes, all of the men in our office have STC vendor badges that allow them ease of entry…even the driver that takes us there.
When I woke up Thursday morning I wasn’t certain that my badge would come through in time to attend the meeting, but I got ready and went to the office to meet my colleagues so we could all ride over to STC headquarters together. When I got to our office my credentials had just been sent over to my boss. YAY! Getting showered and putting makeup on wasn’t for nothing!
When we drive up to the security gate on STC campus everyone hands over their badges, and my boss provides the electronic document he received to grant my access. The guard starts screaming to another guard in the next booth, like sirens blaring. It’s a moment like this when I really wish I understood Arabic. My colleagues start chuckling, trying to maintain their composure. They tell me that the guard alerted others that there was a woman on campus and asked for a walkie-talkie so he could request my security vehicle escort (!) to the Executive Club, the building where our meeting is taking place. I wish I could have taken a video of the scene, because I can’t do it justice in words. It was dramatic and comical. We waited for my escort and proceeded to the Executive Club. This was the first time my team had come with a women and they too were surprised with the security being taken.
Of the 20,000 employees on STC HQ campus, ONLY four are women and I understand these are recent hires. These women are also segregated in their own building. As I’ve been told, most of the buildings aren’t even equipped with women’s restrooms, which I guess is in part why they have their own building. The security guard reaction to my presence wasn’t surprising, but it was definitely amusing. I was special…in a strange way.
In the conference room I notice there were about 30 people, four of them women, including myself and a woman from the creative agency. I deducted that other two women, of the four working at STC, must work in Marketing…a good sign for our client team? Mind you none of the women from STC spoke during the meeting, but it wasn’t like a US meeting where so many people are vying for share of voice. I could sense a hierarchy among the men in the room as well. And yes, the Saudi women were wearing niqab and hijab. Side note, it’s worth calling out that STC is mostly government owned. So I can’t help but wonder how much of Vision 2030 has anything to these female hires and maybe there will there be more?
With introductions I let my colleagues take the lead. The interactions I had with many of the male clients, Saudi men dressed in the traditional white thobe and red checkered shemagh, were encouraging. All looked me in the eye, shook my hand, greeted me with well wishes for my time in KSA and told me that they’re looking forward to working together. J had told me a while ago that any Saudi businessman is going to be respectful and polite in our interactions because of my work experience and my title. I recently read a NYTimes article from 2015 about a woman architect, based in NY, who’s been working with the Saudis or some time. Her perspective is similar. “In Saudi Arabia, it’s clear they have a great admiration for expertise, so the rules were changed a bit when they saw that I was bringing expertise to the table, which is of course why they hired me in the first place,” she said. I think the GM of our office prepped the clients on my background.
The purpose of the meeting was to review first-half 2017 – for the creative agency to recap the work they’ve done and for our team to give an update on the competitive landscape, media plans, as well as talk about any marketplace trends. Being that this was my first meeting, it was important that I contribute to the meeting and show some knowledge, even though I know nothing about STC’s business. Fortunately I was very familiar with a case study the team presenting so I chimed in on that. The clients asked me some questions. After the meeting one of our day-to-day clients even came up to me to chat for a bit. I considered this a big success for my first meeting.
As we left, my colleagues began asking me questions about what I thought of the clients and the meeting. I started replaying the last four hours in my mind and my head began spinning with questions. From a business perspective I was impressed with the client team. All asked great questions, requested valuable follow-up work to be done and definitely challenged the team on upcoming projects. From a cultural perspective, I felt like the day spanned opposite ends of the traditional to progressive spectrum, but with a LOT of contradiction. This seems to be the typical Saudi dichotomous struggle in a lot of my observations. Some hold strict standards and expectations of women, as interpreted from the Quran. Since I’m a Westerner and Christian, am I not held to the same standards? Yet, there seems to be Saudi men who are more liberal and don’t have problem interacting with (Western?) women. Are they comfortable with their wife’s face being uncovered? Do their wives work? Do they support progress and women’s rights? Or are they just falling back on these cultural archetypes because that’s tradition and how things have always been done?
So many questions, and I wonder if I’ll ever get to ask them to any Saudi men? Interestingly, none on my colleagues are Saudi. They're mostly Lebanese, Pakistani and Indian and had no light to shed. By the time I got home I really wanted to take a nap, but I rallied with a Red Bull and joined J for Thursday night steak dinner at the Embassy to hang out with our fellow Americans, not question gender roles and just feel normal. But I am looking forward to getting into the office on a regular basis and many more client meetings!