‘Empowering women is part of the UAE’s culture’

The UAE has come a long way in gender equality since 1971 when there were only 45 university graduates, five of which were women.

Today, the country has the highest female university enrolment in its history, at 95 per cent, and 70 per cent of graduates are women.

“Prosperity and peace have always been a strong link with gender balance,” said Mona Al Marri, vice president of the UAE Gender Balance Council.

“The participation of women in all spheres – political, economic and even social – is critical for their empowerment, which in turn is vital for sustainable development and peace. The UAE has set a great example.”

The country ranks first in the GCC in gender equality and it was the first Arab country to make it mandatory that boardrooms have at least one female director.

“The concept of women’s empowerment is part of our culture,” Ms Al Marri said. “The status of women has been flourishing in parallel with the rapid growth of the country since its formation in 1971. We have a great leadership with a great vision.”

Women in the UAE represent 46.6 per cent of the labour force and 66 per cent of the public sector. There are 53,000 Emirati businesswomen, overseeing Dh55 billion of investments.

Dr Chantal de Jonge Oudraat, president of Women in International Security, said: “I wish more countries would take the commitment of gender equality as seriously as does the UAE.”

Sheikha Fatima, Mother of the Nation and Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, which co-hosted the conference along with Abu Dhabi think tank Trends Research and Advisory, hopes the summit will generate specific recommendations.

“We want to lead such concepts like women’s empowerment around the world but we need to build a proper strategy,” Ms Al Marri said.