Mohammed bin Rashid: Gender balance to a more prosperous future as we embark on a new developmental stage under the leadership of Mohammed bin Zayed

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, expressed his satisfaction with the advanced level of gender balance and its transformation into a work culture and institutional approach in the UAE, and heralds a more prosperous future during the new developmental stage in the UAE. Under the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State.

His Highness said that His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is one of the most supportive of women and their superiority and the success of their role as a major partner in development, in order to consolidate the approach established by the late, father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, and to continue the stage of empowerment led by the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, may his soul rest in peace, as the country, under his leadership, witnessed a lot of legislation, legal amendments and policies that support gender balance, stressing the continuation of this firm approach so that the UAE has leadership in the world, a new challenge we look forward to achieving in the country of the impossible. Especially since the UAE has made qualitative leaps in the global competitiveness indicators concerned with this file over the past years, and it is also a priority in the country's next fifty-year strategy.

Honoring the winners of the Balance Index

This came during the honoring of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the winners of the Gender Balance Index for the Federal Government in its fourth session for 2022, which includes 3 categories: the best personality supporting gender balance, the best federal government entity supporting balance, and the best initiative to support balance.

His Highness honored Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak in the category of personality supporting gender balance, and on behalf of Her Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court.

His Highness also honored the Ministry of Culture and Youth for the category of the best federal entity supporting gender balance (at the level of ministries), and received the honor from His Highness, Noura bint Muhammad Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, and His Highness honored the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security for the category of the best supporting federal entity. For gender balance (at the level of bodies and institutions), where he received the honor from His Highness, His Excellency Ali Mohammed bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Chairman of the Authority.

His Highness also honored the Ministry of Community Development in the category of the best initiative to support gender balance for the "Sana'a" initiative, and received the honor from His Highness, His Excellency Hessa bint Issa Bu Humaid, Minister of Community Development. 

Sheikha Fatima..a leading global model

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum congratulated Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, President of the General Women's Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme President of the Family Development Foundation, praising Her Highness' support and care for women in the family, socially, educationally and professionally, which laid a strong foundation for consolidating gender balance as a consistent approach to the government. The Emirates, stressing that Her Highness' blessed efforts to empower women inside and outside the Emirates are appreciated by the whole world, peoples, governments and organizations, and we are proud that Her Highness is a leading global model in supporting and empowering women.

His Highness also congratulated the Ministries of Culture, Youth and Community Development, the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security, praising their efforts in achieving impressive achievements that enabled them to win the index, praising His Highness for their effective contributions in providing a work environment that supports gender balance and enhancing the UAE's global competitiveness.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum expressed his pride in the successes of Emirati women in various sectors and their positive impact on the development process over the past fifty years, stressing that they will remain a major pillar in shaping the future of the UAE and its ambitious visions to become the best countries in the world in all fields.

His Highness praised the great efforts of the Emirates Council for Gender Balance, headed by HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, HH Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in transforming the concept of balance into institutional work through qualitative initiatives of the Council. Since its establishment 7 years ago, including the implementation of the Gender Balance Index.

Supporting leadership and Sheikha Fatima

For her part, the wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, praised Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the Emirates Council for Gender Balance, for the support provided by the wise leadership and Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak to gender balance in The state and their permanent motivation for the balance team, which includes national competencies from various sectors, stressing that this support represents an incentive to continue striving to achieve more successes in this file at the local and global levels, through new initiatives that the Council intends to launch in the next phase of work, which is included in the “Balancing Strategy between Gender in the UAE 2022-2026, which was approved by the Council of Ministers last March under the chairmanship of His Highness Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and aims to achieve the UAE’s leadership and global influence in this file, and to consolidate the presence of women in leadership positions and enhance their participation in economic life, stressing Her Highness on the effective impact of local and global partnerships in achieve these goals.

Congratulation

Her Highness extended her highest congratulations and blessings to Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak for receiving the award for the Personality Supporting Gender Balance in the National Gender Balance Index, praising Her Highness' efforts and continuous support for women over half a century, which led to achieving gender balance and equal opportunities for everyone in the country to this The advanced level of success and with it the UAE has become a regional model and a pioneering experience appreciated by international organizations, which is reflected in its advanced position in global indicators, as the Arab countries top the gender equality index of the United Nations Development Program, and they come first in the Middle East and North Africa, with the World Bank's report "Women, Business and the Law", which monitors the efforts of governments around the world regarding the development of laws and legislation aimed at protecting and empowering women economically.

Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also expressed her sincere congratulations to the winners of the fourth cycle of the Gender Balance Index, praising their efforts and initiatives that contributed to achieving the national goals and the Emirates Council’s strategy for gender balance aimed at reducing the gender gap in various sectors of the state, calling on all parties The state and the private sector to continue to enhance the gender-supportive work environment to preserve these gains and launch from them for more achievements and make new qualitative leaps in this file at the global level.

The best personality supporting balance.. Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak

The first category is granted to the personalities who support gender balance, who have played an influential role in achieving gender balance and granting equal opportunities to men and women, and have positively affected the country’s gender profile regionally and globally, and contributed to raising the country’s classification in global competitiveness reports.

Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, President of the General Women's Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation for Women (Mother of the Emirates), was chosen for this category, in light of her Highness' efforts and her active and influential role in the women's file during the past fifty years, especially closing the education gap and obtaining The UAE ranks first in the world in closing the educational attainment gap, as well as the role of Her Highness in the economic empowerment of Emirati women.

The best federal entity supporting balance

The second category is allocated to the best federal government entity that supports gender balance, and the evaluation of this category is linked to the government’s national indicators, which are based on three axes: decision-making, education and experience, and the work environment “in the sense of promoting a friendly work environment that supports the working mother” to become a more attractive environment characterized by Flexible working hours, work from home, nurseries in the workplace, and other initiatives, legislation and policies.

The Ministry of Culture and Youth (at the level of ministries) and the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (at the level of bodies and institutions) won the award in this category, and were awarded the Gender Balance Seal based on the results of the surveys and the practical steps and actions taken by each of them in this field.

The Ministry of Culture and Youth achieved the highest percentage among ministries in the three approved gender balance indicators, which are: “The percentage of women leaders out of the total leadership of the entity”, “The percentage of women working in specialized and technical jobs” and “The level of availability of an environment that supports gender balance” ".

The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security has also achieved the highest percentage of the three indicators at the level of federal authorities and institutions, and has been keen over the past years to promote gender balance in all departments and levels and in the work environment, while enhancing opportunities for women to enter specialized and technical fields.

Best Supportive Initiative of the Ministry of Community Development

The third category is dedicated to the best initiative in support of gender balance, and is awarded to best practices, projects, policies and legislation in support of gender balance.

The Ministry of Community Development won the best initiative shield, for the "Al-Sana'a" initiative, a development project that supports productive Emirati families and the energies of people of determination, enabling them to achieve economic and social stability through innovative technical and marketing programs to establish micro-enterprises. The initiative has worked to spread and deepen The culture of self-employment and self-reliance, finding sources of income for needy and middle families, and transforming the largest number of productive families into owners of productive economic projects to upgrade and improve their living conditions.

The initiative succeeded in attracting 2,889 citizen productive families, most of whom are women, and created sustainable sources of income for them.

Evaluation

Her Excellency Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice President of the Emirates Council for Gender Balance, said that the files of the entities participating in the gender balance index at the federal government level were evaluated according to the measurement framework and approved standards, which were designed based on the highest standards and best international practices, adding that the index aims to enhance The status of women and their participation in various national and developmental work streams and finding the best formulas that guarantee the highest levels of coordination between state institutions to reach the desired goals in the field of gender balance locally and globally.

She added that the index is one of the initiatives developed by the Emirates Council for Gender Balance, headed by Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in cooperation with the Prime Minister's Office at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, to consolidate the concept of balance and turn it into an institutional work, where such The national indicator is an important incentive for government and private agencies to implement policies and initiatives that support gender in the work environment.

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