DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 22nd Jul, 2018) H.H. Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, praised the wise leadership’s efforts to support Emirati women, saying that such support is key to strengthening the representation of Emirati women across all sectors She has also commended the UAE leadership’s determination to provide Emirati women with all of the tools required for them to contribute to the nation’s continued development and achievements.
During the second official council meeting of 2018, and the first after its restructuring, Sheikha Manal praised the UAE Cabinet’s approval on the decision to restructure the UAE Gender Balance Council.
She also highlighted the importance of enhanced cooperation among local and Federal entities in endorsing continuous growth and supporting the achievement of the nation’s goals, which is the reason behind the establishment of the Council three years ago. The Council was founded to narrow the gender gap across all sectors, enhance gender balance in decision-making positions and support the UAE’s vision to become one of the world’s leading countries in gender balance.
She welcomed the members of the new council, including Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, wishing them success in their work and future endeavours.
Sheikha Manal also praised the Ministry of Finance’s efforts in supporting the Council and incorporating gender balance principles in its overall strategy. She highlighted that the Ministry’s representation reflects the UAE government’s commitment to embracing gender-responsive budgeting in financial and economic policies, which plays an important role in promoting gender balance around the world.
During the second official council meeting of 2018, and the first after its restructuring, Sheikha Manal said that the Council intends to implement a number of initiatives and projects as part of its strategic plan in order fulfil its objectives. The Council is working to support the UAE Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial 2071 plan, which aims to make the UAE the best country in the world by 2071.
She highlighted that gender balance is a top national priority for the UAE, which is included in the UAE Vision 2021, as part of the country’s aims to enhance the participation of women in both its society and economy. She added that the Council has achieved a number of key milestones over the past three years, including reviewing and recommending various legislations to strengthen gender balance across the UAE, as well as launching and implementing world-class initiatives and projects.
This includes the launch of the Council’s Global Gender Circle initiative, the Gender Balance Guide and the UAE Gender Balance Index, which has been incorporated into the UAE’s national indicators. The Council has also launched a range of initiatives to increase the representation of women in decision-making positions across both the public and private sectors, hosted global meetings and participated in international efforts to achieve sustainable development.
The meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office, was led by Mona Al Marri, Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, who highlighted that the Council is preparing for a new phase which will build upon its successful journey over the past three years. Mona Al Marri also discussed the impact of new legislations on the UAE’s competitiveness in gender balance rankings and on enforcing the UAE’s constitution in terms of equal rights and opportunities.
During the meeting, Council members assessed the progress made towards implementing the three national initiatives launched by the UAE government during its annual meetings in September 2017. These include creating a social gender databank, proposing a series of gender balance legislations, and implementing the 20 x 21 project.
Current gender balance legislations were reviewed to identify strengths and weaknesses and to provide recommendations to fill any gaps, which were sent to the relevant entities for assessment. As a result of these efforts, the UAE Cabinet approved a law in April 2018 to ensure equal gender pay. This law is the first of its kind in the region and the second in the world.
The social gender databank, which will feature all data issued by federal authorities according to gender, is currently 75 percent complete. The 20 × 21 initiative, which aims to increase the representation of women on boards of directors to 20 percent in both the public and private sectors by 2021, is 64 percent complete. Currently, female representation stands at 17 percent across government entities on a federal level, and at 3.5 percent across UAE listed public joint stock companies.
Al Marri said that the UAE Gender Balance Council will be developing a guide for women nominated to the board of directors of public joint stock companies after it has created a database of female leaders qualified for membership. These will be shared with financial markets. She added that this guide, which will be launched in collaboration with the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), will ensure that the nomination and selection process is in line with UAE governance standards.
