DUBAI, 24th May, 2023 (WAM) — H.H. Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council and wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, confirmed that gender balance is becoming more established in various sectors of the country, and with it the global position of the UAE is increasing as a result of the ambitious, progressive vision of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the visionary directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, as well as the unwavering support provided by H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF).
Sheikha Manal expressed her pride in the awareness and interest that the UAE private sector, with its national and international institutions, attaches to gender balance priorities. She commended the companies’ willingness in the UAE Private sector for their determination to support the UAE's commitment and continuous pursuit to achieve the sustainable development goals. Sheikha Manal stressed the private sector's pivotal role in supporting the government’s efforts to enhance gender balance in the UAE to achieve economic prosperity, social stability and sustainable growth.
She highlighted the positive interaction of private sector institutions with the "SDG 5 Pledge to Accelerate Gender Balance in the UAE Private Sector" initiative, which aims to enhance gender balance in the private sector by raising women's participation in senior and middle management roles to 30 percent by 2025.
She affirmed that this pledge is the result of a longstanding partnership between the UAE Government and the private sector and is a direct result of the efforts of the Private Sector Advisory Council on Sustainable Development Goals, in cooperation with the National Committee for Sustainable Development Goals, represented by the UAE Gender Balance Council (UAE GBC) and the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC).
The UAE GBC announced that eight major national and international companies operating in a variety of fields in the country have joined the “Pledge to Accelerate Gender Balance in the UAE Private Sector” initiative, bringing the number of companies entering this voluntary pledge from 56 national and international companies to 64.
This new step was announced during the fifth signing ceremony held by the UAE GBC in the presence of Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, and Chairperson of the Global Council on Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality). New companies joining the initiative include Emirates NBD, Pfizer, PwC Middle East, Nissan, Mercer, BSH Home Appliances Middle East, ENGIE, and Arabian Ethicals.
The signing of the pledge was followed by the organisation of a roundtable discussion in which Mona Al Marri participated, alongside members of the UAE Gender Balance Council, Huda Al Hashimi, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs, Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Assistant Under-Secretary for Domestic Workers at Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Hanan Mansoor Ahli, Managing Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, and, as well as Ruqayyah Al Blooshi, Director of International Relations at the UAE Prime Minister’s Office. Over 80 leaders of private sector companies who have previously signed the pledge participated in roundtable discussions alongside leadership on key topics including changes made at the organisational level since signing the pledge; policy gaps and opportunities around gender balance in the UAE; the future skills needed to meet UAE economic goals; and further ways to advance public-private collaboration and achieve the UAE vision.