Working towards reaching it’s goals for 2021, it was announced this week that the UAE has moved up 23 places on the UN’s Gender Equality Index 2019 - sitting at the top within the Arab world, and ranking at 26th place globally.
The placement of countries on the list is determined by the Gender Inequality Index, which is a “composite measure reflecting inequality in achievement between women and men in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market,” and is part of The 2019 Human Development Report.
Speaking about the progressive announcement, Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the president of the UAE’s Gender Balance Council, stated, "I am proud of this accomplishment which emphasizes our ability to participate in further defining the future on the world stage.” She also mentioned that the council’s key goal was to “place the UAE among the world's top 25 countries in the field of gender balance by 2021,” - which seems to be possible by 2020.
Achieving this ranking on a renowned global report would not have been possible without the support of our wise leadership & the cooperation of all ministries and institutions to make the Emirati experience in gender balance a model to be followed regionally & internationally.
— Manal MR AL Maktoum (@MMbinRashid) 9 décembre 2019
5 of the other Arab countries that followed the UAE on the list, and their ranks globally include:
· Libya (41)
· Qatar (45)
· Bahrain (47)
· Saudi Arabia (49)
· Kuwait (53)
On a global scale, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark ranked in the top 2 positions on the index.
The UAE has always championed female empowerment and has worked hard to promote and practice gender equality, and this has been demonstrated by passing a number of laws that support equal rights for women, including the legislation of Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Hours of Work law, and the Equal Remuneration Convention. Last year, the UAE’s cabinet also passed a law that ensured equal pay for men and women in employment in there.
The first ever Emirati Women’s Day was inaugurated in 2015 by the country’s Sheika Fatima bint Mubarak to celebrate the contributions of women within the Emirates.
Did you know that a whopping 66% of government roles are held by Emirati women, and that 30% of those are in senior positions. The participation of women in the UAE’s cabinet is one of the highest, globally.
