Manal bint Mohammed: The initiative reflects the unique partnership between the public and private sectors to achieve national goals

The UAE private sector pledges to raise the percentage of women's representation in leadership positions to 30%

• The UAE private sector pledges to accelerate the achievement of gender balance.

  From the source

• Mona Al Marri: "The pledge confirms the responsibility that the UAE private sector enjoys towards the state's vision and goals."

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18 leading national and international companies in various fields in the country have signed a pledge to accelerate the achievement of the fifth goal of the sustainable development goals, related to gender balance and the empowerment of all women and girls, in a new initiative of its kind for the private sector at the global level.

The pledge aims to enhance gender balance in leadership positions in the private sector and raise the percentage of women’s participation in them to 30% by 2025, through qualitative policies, programs and initiatives that keep pace with the progress achieved in this field in the government sector in the country.

This pledge was announced during a ceremony held by the Emirates Council for Gender Balance, in cooperation with the National Committee on Sustainable Development Goals and the Advisory Council for the Private Sector on Sustainable Development Goals, in the presence of the Vice President of the Emirates Council for Gender Balance and Chairperson of the Fifth Global Council of Sustainable Development Goals, Mona Ghanem Al Marri. Abdullah Nasser Lootah, Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, Vice Chairman of the National Committee for Sustainable Development Goals, Shamsa Saleh, Secretary General of the Emirates Council for Gender Balance, Acting Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Center, Hanan Ahli, and a number of government officials and representatives A number of international organizations working on the fifth goal, CEOs and officials of private sector companies.

This pledge reflects the commitment of male institutional leaders to support women and enhance their representation in leadership positions during the coming period, to ensure their full and effective participation at the highest levels of decision-making. A discussion attended by government officials, representatives of international organizations and CEOs of the signatory companies, during which they reviewed the initiatives and programs of these companies to promote gender balance in general, increase the representation of women at the levels of their senior and middle management, and ways to enhance cooperation between the government and private sectors to achieve these goals, and the signatory companies to The pledge is:Majid Al Futtaim Holding Company, Masdar, DMCC, Dubai Holding, Unilever, Standard Chartered Bank, MasterCard, Michelin, UPS, General Motors, Schneider Electric, PepsiCo, Mondelez International, BASF, Mars Trading, Nestle and General Mills.

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 and President of the Dubai Women's Establishment, valued this voluntary initiative by the private sector, which reflects the unique partnership Between the public and private sectors in the UAE to achieve the national goals and the future vision of the leadership, that the UAE will be the best country in the world in all fields during the next 50 years.

Her Highness stressed the pivotal role of the private sector in supporting government efforts to enhance the UAE’s global competitiveness, saying, “The file of gender balance is a priority for the UAE government, and the private sector is an indispensable partner in achieving all 17 sustainable development goals, especially the fifth goal, stressing that The inspiring purpose of this pledge will be a model for the region and the world.”

Her Highness added that "the UAE is one of the pioneering countries in committing to the goals of sustainable development 2030 and has incorporated them into the main pillars of its strategic plans, and a national committee for sustainable development goals was established in 2017, comprising several ministries and federal agencies, all of which share the responsibility for implementing these goals at the national level and monitoring progress The UAE Gender Balance Council has launched many local and global initiatives to accelerate the implementation of these goals, especially the fifth goal, over the past years in cooperation with strategic government partners and international institutions and organizations that have distinct experiences in developing gender policies. social.”

Her Highness said, "These efforts have resulted in remarkable progress in the UAE's ranking in the global competitiveness reports on women and gender balance, as the countries of the region are currently leading the most important of these indicators and have jumped to the 18th position globally in the Gender Equality Report 2020 issued by the United Nations Development Program and ranked First in the Middle East and North Africa region in the “Women, Business, and Law 2021” report issued by the World Bank, and first in the Arab world in the Gender Gap Report, issued by the World Economic Forum 2021, and ranked first in the world in nine competitive indicators related to progress in achieving the fifth goal of the sustainable development goals on gender balance during the year 2021.”

Her Highness added that the initiatives to promote gender balance in the companies that signed this pledge constitute an inspiring model for all private sector institutions in the country, especially with what is confirmed by the results of international research specialized in the great economic returns of women's participation in leadership positions.

Mona Ghanem Al Marri said, "The signing of this declaration by the UAE private sector and its pledge to accelerate gender balance and promote women's leadership is a defining moment that deserves praise and appreciation, because it enhances government efforts and confirms the great responsibility that the Emirati private sector enjoys towards the vision and goals of the state."

She added that the "Covid-19" pandemic demonstrated the need to work together to come up with innovative solutions to the complex challenges facing the world, as well as the extent to which women are affected by crises.

She pointed out that there are real gaps in the gender balance in leadership positions all over the world, where women occupy 22% of leadership positions, rising to 25% in the field of health care, stressing that such efforts represent essential steps to correct these gaps, and that increasing the number of Women in leadership means stronger organizational performance, thriving economies, and greater overall equality.

She expressed her thanks to the companies that signed the pledge and their cooperation with the UAE government, adding that it represents a great opportunity for the rest of the private sector companies to join this important initiative, stressing the keenness of the Emirates Council for Gender Balance to provide forms of support to all private sector, to achieve further progress in this the field by providing its institutions with the best means and procedures that gradually promote gender balance at the highest levels of leadership.

In the same context, Abdullah Nasser Lootah stressed the importance of the role of the private sector in supporting national efforts to achieve sustainable development goals, and to promote national initiatives and projects aimed at consolidating gender balance in various fields.

He said that the pledge signed by 18 national and international companies from among the pioneers of the private sector, to accelerate the achievement of the fifth sustainable development goals, related to gender balance, constitutes an important step in the UAE's path to empowering women, launched by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may his soul rest in peace. The leadership continues to build on it because of its belief in the pivotal role of women in the advancement of countries and societies.

Manal bint Muhammad:

• "The issue of gender balance is one of the priorities of the UAE government, and the private sector is an indispensable partner in achieving all sustainable development goals."

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