Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council and Dubai Women’s Foundation, said that her country was working on a project within the future strategy to transform the UAE into a leader of best gender balance practices, pointing to the implementation of several plans to empower woman since the Council’s establishment.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat on the occasion of International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8, Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid spoke about women’s participation in decision-making, assuming leadership positions, and their role in development in various sectors.
Asked about the UAE plans to empower women in general, she said: “Plans to empower women in the Emirates began since the country was founded in 1971 by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and his brothers, the founding fathers. The father, Sheikh Zayed, established a firm approach for the respect and appreciation of women by providing all forms of support to enable them to assume their role in development and community building.”
“Pursuant to this approach, the UAE constitution stipulates the principle of equal opportunities and equality between men and women in rights and duties, which has been translated into laws, legislations, initiatives and policies that support this principle and turn it into tangible achievements,” she added.
Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid stressed that women in the UAE have also received great support from Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, President of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme President of the Family Development Foundation.
She noted that on March 8, 2015, Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak launched the “National Strategy for Empowerment and Entrepreneurship of Women in the UAE 2015-2021”, which provided a reference framework for all governmental, private and civil society institutions in developing relevant action plans and programs.
This strategy sought to empower and build the capabilities of Emirati women, to overcome obstacles hindering their participation in all fields and to constitute a model for women’s leadership in all local, regional and international forums, according to the president of the UAE Gender Balance Council.
On how the UAE managed to reduce the gender gap, Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid said that the establishment of the Emirates Council for Gender Balance in 2015 under the direction of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum marked a milestone in the issue of gender equality in the country and its transformation into a sustainable institutional approach.
“The council aims to reduce the gender gap in all sectors of the country, raise the UAE’s position in reports and global competitiveness indicators, and make it a global model in this field,” she underlined.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum had set a goal for the UAE to be by 2021, among the top 25 countries in the world in the report on gender equality issued annually by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which is considered the most important global indicator in this field.
“In a record time not exceeding 5 years, the UAE made a big leap within the report, by reaching the 18th position worldwide in the 2020 edition, while maintaining the first place at the Arab level, that is, before the date set for the Council,” she remarked.
Projects and initiatives launched and implemented by the Council over the past five years have also contributed to reducing the gender gap across all sectors and achieving global competitiveness, Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid said, adding that strong partnerships were built with countries, organizations and international institutions with distinguished expertise and experiences in this field.
She revealed that the Council has also launched quality projects and pioneering initiatives to consolidate the concept of gender balance and transform it into an institutional culture, including the development and launch of the “Gender Balance Guide: Practical Steps for Institutions in the Emirates”, in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, as the first guide of its kind in the world to support gender balance in government and private institutions.
“As a result of the successes of Emirati women and the belief of the state’s leadership in the importance of their role, the percentage of women’s representation in the Federal National Council (Parliament) has risen to 50 percent, which is one of the highest global percentages,” she stated.
The percentage of women’s representation in the UAE government is currently at 27.5 percent, which is one of the highest rates globally.
Moreover, women represent about 30 percent of workers in the diplomatic corps, 24 percent in the boards of directors of federal government agencies and 19.8 percent in the boards of directors of the chambers of commerce and industry in the UAE, she emphasized.
“Today, the UAE has become a pioneering regional model in the field of gender balance. Our experience is internationally appreciated, reflected in the country’s ranking in global indicators and reports, the most recent of which is the World Bank report on “Women, Business and Law 2021” in which the UAE ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa,” the president of the UAE Gender Balance Council told Asharq Al-Awsat.
She continued: “We have initiatives and projects within the future strategy of the Emirates Council for Gender Balance that aim to make the UAE the best country in the world in all fields by 2071. We will work to transform the UAE into a leader of best practices in gender balance.”
