Council aims to involve more women in development
dubai — Enhancing women’s role in the development process of the UAE with numerous initiatives will be the focus of the UAE Gender Balance Council’s strategic action plan in 2019.
Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, president of the UAE Gender Balance Council and wife of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, announced that the action plan aims to establish gender balance as a national priority, strengthen the UAE’s position in international competitive indicators, and advance its global influence.
She said the strategy includes initiatives to implement the directives of the President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to increase the representation of women in the Federal National Council by 50 per cent starting from the next election cycle in 2019.
The council will also continue its efforts to increase female participation across various sectors and develop strategies to enhance Emirati women’s economic contribution and participation in the workforce by assessing the skill-sets of non-working women and analysing the challenges they face.
Two initiatives
The UAE Gender Balance Council recently held its fourth meeting of 2018, led by Mona Al Marri, vicepresident of the UAE Gender Balance Council. During the meeting, the council discussed the two initiatives that were endorsed by the cabinet. The first initiative will enhance efforts to review current legislations, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and propose new legislations to increase the participation of women in both the public and private sectors in line with the UAE Vision 2021.
The second initiative focuses on the annual report by the UAE Gender Balance Council, which monitors the national women empowerment agenda, gender balance, and efforts supporting Goal 5 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 2030 — ‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.’
Al Marri stated that the council worked on several important initiatives and projects in 2018 under the guidance of Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The council’s main goal was to narrow the gender gap across all sectors and implement the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which aim to establish the UAE as a global role model in gender balance and among the world’s top 25
countries in the gender balance field by 2021.
Al Marri also highlighted that the council is currently working on an action plan to implement the UAE Cabinet’s mandates in 2019. This will be achieved through several projects and initiatives that will focus on allocating various roles for women across different sectors, without comprising their personal or social responsibilities by offering them the opportunity to work remotely or part-time.