I discussed the effects of the "Covid-19" pandemic

The Dubai Dialogues takes a look at the future of women and work

The participants in the session tried to anticipate the future of innovation and the elements for employee development.

From the source

The fourth session of the Dubai Virtual Dialogues Initiative for Women, organized under the title “A View on the Future of Work and Women,” discussed the effects of the “Covid-19” pandemic on the labor market in general and women in particular, and sought to explore the future of women's work after this global pandemic, the future of innovation and the elements for development Personnel and talent acquisition, in light of the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The session was attended by the CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, Khalfan Belhoul, and the founding partner and CEO of "Nabata Health", Sophie Smith, and moderated by CNBC's broadcaster Dan Murphy, and the speech of the Dubai Women Foundation, Director of Communication Department, Maitha Shuaib, was delivered by the Dubai Foundation.

At the outset, Khalfan praised the tireless efforts of the Dubai Women’s Foundation, led by the wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the Emirates Council for Gender Balance, Chair of the Foundation Dubai for Women, to translate the vision and directions of the leadership in enhancing the role of women in various fields and the pioneering projects launched by the Foundation to develop women's skills and highlight their achievements in all sectors. The Dubai Virtual Dialogues Initiative for Women is one of them.

He added that «automation and the fourth industrial revolution will play a vital and decisive role in shaping the future labor market, including work procedures and systems and how to provide services that we have been accustomed to for long years», noting that the time intervals between previous industrial revolutions were decreasing with the passage of time due to the rapid technical development. Therefore, keeping up with this speed is one of the most important challenges that we are currently facing, which requires concerted global efforts to find solutions and upgrade the skills of human cadres and enable them to absorb the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, stressing the importance of focusing on the role of women at this stage because they will face different challenges from those that are The man will face it, and this is a global challenge that must be worked on together.

Pluses

On the new challenges created by the "Covid-19" crisis and its impact on the future of work, Ballhoul said that "it has changed many of our concepts in the Dubai Future Foundation, about future visions and how the labor market will be, but nevertheless this crisis had an important positive, which is to benefit From the rapid technological development in meeting the requirements of work and its continuity, in light of the changes imposed by the pandemic, and commitment to precautionary measures and preventive measures, as the remote work system has been widely resorted to, as one of the types of flexible working hours, and this system included men and women together.

And he considered that the advantages of this system were more for women than for men, because it provided them with an additional opportunity to achieve a balance between their family life and work life, in light of the many family responsibilities entrusted to them.

Programs and initiatives

For her part, the Executive Director of the Dubai Women Establishment, Shamsa Saleh, praised the efforts of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in adopting future programs that support the effective participation of women at all levels, and the advancement of the UAE to global leadership, adding that «the Foundation's work plan for this The year includes many of these programs and initiatives that in turn enhance national efforts, as part of the design project for the next 50 years for the UAE, which was directed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

She affirmed the Foundation's commitment to support and enhance the role of women, not only socially, but economically and in all fields, in order to fulfill the visions and directives of our wise leadership. Enterprise strategy ».

Shamsa Saleh thanked the participants in the Dubai Virtual Women Dialogues, which were launched last August, coinciding with the celebration of Emirati Women's Day, with the aim of enhancing awareness of the role of women in various sectors of the country.

Balance

For her part, Sophie Smith focused on the importance of achieving a balance between work and family life, and how we devote technology to applying this balance in the workplace, noting that we are living in an era of rapid technological development, which provides opportunities for remote work for any employee who may be affected by this balance between His working and family life, and she drew attention to studies that showed that the family and domestic work of women increased in 2020 due to the Corona crisis, because they were at home for a longer time than usual.

Smith added that “although women make up more than half of the graduates of specialized scientific fields in universities, their representation in these fields in the labor market is less than that of men, because many female graduates were not enthusiastic about working in these sectors because the system of remote work was not applied before The (Corona) crisis, hence the increasing need to increase female students ’awareness of work requirements, and for institutions to have community awareness of providing flexible work models.”

Smith continued: "Despite the anxiety caused by (Corona) and the challenges it created, human development, from ancient times until now, has confirmed that we are able to keep pace with developments and deal with challenges," directing advice to every graduate, and all those with traditional jobs, of necessity. To start learning new skills and developing their potential, to be able to accept and adapt to the requirements of the Industrial Revolution, during which many traditional jobs will disappear.

Khalfan Belhoul:

• "Telework provided an additional opportunity for women to achieve a balance between their family life and work life."

Shamsa Saleh:

• “The Dubai Women Establishment is committed to enhancing the role of women, not only socially, but economically and in all fields.”

Fast and efficient

“We in the UAE are proud of the speed and efficiency of dealing with the (Covid-19) pandemic, and the global efforts made by the country to deal with the crisis,” said Maitha Shuaib, director of corporate communication at Dubai Women’s Foundation, referring to the importance of the fourth session of the Dubai Virtual Dialogues Initiative for Women. Because we seek to overcome the effects of the (Corona) crisis in the labor market, and women in particular, and prepare them for the future work model. ”

Automation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution will play a vital and decisive role in shaping the future labor market.

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