She stressed that gender balance is a key pillar of inclusive development

Manal bint Mohammed: Emirati women's successes are an inspiring model

The participation of Emirati women is influential in various sectors. Archival

The wife of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, and H.H. Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the UAE Gender Balance Council and Chairperson of Dubai Women Establishment, expressed her pride in the achievements of Emirati women in various sectors, and their influential contributions to the progress and prosperity achieved by the country, and the prestigious global position it has reached.

Her Highness said that these successes are the fruit and product of the vision supporting the leadership throughout the blessed march of the country, and its keenness to provide all legislative and regulatory enablers that ensure women contribute constructively in various development tracks, which made this supportive experience an inspiring global model in commitment to the sustainable development goals, foremost of which is the fifth goal on gender balance and the empowerment of all women and girls.

On the occasion of International Women's Day, which falls on the eighth of March, Her Highness the Chairperson of the UAE Gender Balance Council thanked His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for their constant support for women, and their keenness to provide them with all the capabilities that help them prove themselves and expand their contribution to building the future of the country on the foundations of Balanced and sustainable, within an ambitious vision for the UAE to be the best country in the world in various fields.

Always Enabled

Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum praised the patronage given by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (Mother of the Nation), to Emirati women, and enabling them to play their deserved role in serving their country through their influential participation in various sectors, and reaching them to the world.

Her Highness said that this supportive vision of the leadership and its belief in the importance of the role of women as a key partner in development and shaping the future resulted in the UAE achieving a prominent position in international reports and global competitiveness indicators on women's empowerment and gender balance, as it ranked first in the Arab world and 11th globally in the Gender Balance Index 2022, issued by the United Nations Development Program, and topped the countries of the Middle East and North Africa region for the third consecutive year in the Women, Business and the Law Report 2023. issued by the World Bank, which monitors the efforts of governments around the world in terms of developing laws and legislation aimed at protecting and empowering women economically, and the UAE also topped the Arab countries in the Gender Gap Report 2022, issued by the World Economic Forum.

Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum praised the leadership's keenness to enhance women's participation in political life, leadership positions and decision-making positions, as their representation in the ministerial formation of the UAE government reaches about 27.5%, and the percentage rises to 50% in the membership of the Federal National Council, which is one of the highest regional and global rates according to reports and competitiveness indicators, as the UAE ranked first globally in the index of women's representation in parliament for the years 2020 and 2021 in the Global Competitiveness Report. issued by the Institute for Management Development in Switzerland, and included in the index of women's parliamentary representation in 2021 and 2022 in the Gender Gap Report, issued by the World Economic Forum.

Sustainable approach

Her Highness stressed the UAE's keenness to share with the countries of the region, and the international community in general, the achievements and successes it has achieved in gender balance, emphasizing its sustainable approach in supporting international efforts to accelerate the achievement of the fifth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals, noting in this regard that the UAE Gender Balance Council, in cooperation with the World Bank, launched last September the Emirates Gender Balance Center for Excellence and Knowledge Exchange, as a regional center to promote gender balance through the dissemination and exchange of Knowledge and providing the necessary advice to the countries of the region on the best policies supporting gender, and the qualitative partnership with the World Economic Forum in accordance with a cooperation agreement signed in Davos last January, under which the UAE Gender Balance Council became a global knowledge partner of the Forum in a step that reflects the leading position and influential roles of the country in this field at the level of the Arab world.

The Council also organized several dialogue sessions and workshops within the Gender Balance Forum, which was held during the World Government Summit last February, to discuss the most prominent challenges and future opportunities to promote gender balance in the region and the world, and support women's economic empowerment with the participation of thought leaders, officials of relevant international organizations and gender experts from around the world. Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum added that the UAE Gender Balance Council, based on the inspiring regional experience of the UAE, developed, in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the "Gender Balance Guide", and in cooperation with the Organization and the Global Council for the Fifth Goal of the Sustainable Development Goals, developed the Advanced Global Practices for Gender Balance toolkit.

• 27.5% representation of women in the cabinet formation of the government.

• 50% of the membership of the Federal National Council.

Manal bint Mohammed:

• "The UAE has been keen to provide all legislative and regulatory enablers that ensure that women contribute constructively to various development paths."

A gesture of appreciation

The wife of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, and H.H. Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the UAE Gender Balance Council and Chairperson of Dubai Women Establishment, said that "International Women's Day reflects the appreciation and respect of women, emphasizing their rights, and the importance of their role as a key partner for men in development efforts, and celebrating their economic, social and political achievements," noting that celebrating this occasion globally comes this year at a time of balance. Gender progress at the regional level, as a result of the growing recognition of the importance of the role of women and gender balance as a key pillar for achieving inclusive development, and a key to creating prosperous and sustainable societies.

Mona Al Marri: An Authentic
Emirati Approach

On the occasion of International Women's Day, Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, praised the unlimited support provided by the leadership to Emirati women, and the full opportunity to make them successful and benefit from their capabilities in various fields, while stressing the centrality of their role in the future plans of the country.

She stressed that gender balance is an authentic Emirati approach since the establishment of the country more than half a century ago, and that the principles and foundations adopted by the UAE to achieve an inspiring regional experience in this field with unlimited support from the leadership, included constitutional articles that emphasize equality and equal opportunities for all, legal legislation, policies and regulatory frameworks that support women's rights, and enhance their role in various development tracks.

"We join the world in celebrating this occasion this year, as we witness an international movement and various efforts to find solutions to the challenges facing women's empowerment, and to seek further progress in the gender balance file, both of which represent the core of the fifth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 approved by the United Nations General Assembly as an international agenda," said Mona Al-Marri. She stressed the keenness of the UAE Gender Balance Council, under the directives of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to participate effectively to achieve further progress at the regional and global levels through various initiatives and projects, which it implements in cooperation with its strategic partners from countries and relevant international organizations.