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The United Arab Emirates, represented by the UAE Gender Balance Council, participated in the BRICS Ministerial Meeting on Women’s Affairs, held in St. Petersburg, Russia, today, under the theme “Women, Governance and Leadership.” The meeting reviewed experiences and best practices in the field of women’s empowerment in governance and leadership, as well as opportunities to enhance cooperation between the group’s countries to overcome challenges in this area for a better future for economic and societal development.
During the meeting, Her Excellency Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, highlighted the UAE’s inspiring experience in empowering women in leadership, the country’s efforts to closely integrate gender balance into its sustainable development strategies, and opportunities to enhance cooperation between the group’s countries.
On this occasion, Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, stressed that the Council’s participation in this meeting comes within the framework of the UAE’s participatory approach with the international community and its progress towards consolidating gender balance at all levels and in various sectors, alongside its commitment to supporting international efforts aimed at empowering women.
Her Highness added that gender balance is a key component of the UAE’s social fabric, a fundamental pillar of its national vision, and an integral part of its aspirations for a more prosperous future. It also represents the core of the country’s national development strategy, in line with the fifth goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on gender balance and empowering all women and girls. Her Highness affirmed the UAE’s commitment to it at the national and global levels, noting that the BRICS platforms are essential to accelerating this progress.
Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said that the commitment to empowering women leaders has been included in the country’s core principles since its establishment in 1971, based on the realization of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God bless his soul, and Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, “Mother of the Emirates”, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, “may God protect her”, that the UAE’s progress and prosperity can only be achieved through the participation of women and men together in all efforts and responsibilities. Her Highness said: “Since these early beginnings, gender balance has been one of the main pillars of our national policies and social values, and the country is committed to ensuring that women have greater equality in leadership opportunities.”
Her Highness affirmed that the UAE has achieved qualitative progress in the field of gender balance at the local and global levels, thanks to the forward-looking vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, and the tireless efforts of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, and His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the State, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
Platform to explore opportunities
At the beginning of her speech during the BRICS Ministerial Meeting on Women’s Affairs, which was held on the sidelines of the 4th Eurasian Women’s Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, from 18 to 20 September, Her Excellency Mona Al Marri, Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, thanked the Russian Federation for hosting this meeting as part of its current presidency of the group and proposing its theme of “Women, Governance and Leadership.” She also praised the initiative of the Republic of South Africa to establish this platform for women’s affairs during the 15th BRICS Summit, stressing its importance in exploring opportunities through which women can be empowered to contribute to governance in ways that will shape a better future in their countries. She said: “The UAE has a long-standing commitment to gender balance, both nationally and globally, and we believe that platforms such as BRICS are essential to accelerating this progress.”
Leadership and Governance
The Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council stressed that the UAE has given great importance to women’s empowerment in the areas of leadership and governance, as it ranks first in the world in the percentage of women’s representation in parliament, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2024 issued by the World Economic Forum. She pointed out that women currently constitute 50% of the members of the Federal National Council, and hold about a third of the number of ministerial positions in the UAE government, which reflects the political empowerment of women and their contribution to the decision-making process. She added that many legal and policy updates have been made to enhance their economic participation, including equal pay for work of equal value and paid paternity leave in the private sector, which is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region. The country’s policies also focus on helping female leaders achieve a balance between their vital roles in the family and in the public sphere, as it is an important pillar for achieving sustainable development.
Mona Al Marri pointed out the efforts of the UAE Gender Balance Council, chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in achieving the vision of the UAE government regarding women’s leadership empowerment by developing advanced programs to enhance their participation in leadership and governance in the public and private sectors, bridging the wage gap between men and women in the private sector, and establishing gender principles in all institutions to ensure that women have equal opportunities to assume leadership roles. In addition, the country’s laws oblige all government entities to allocate equal opportunities for board membership. Laws have also been enacted obligating public joint-stock companies listed on the country’s financial markets and private joint-stock companies to represent women on their boards of directors. There are also many laws and policies that ensure that women have greater equality in leadership opportunities, pointing to the important role of the National Gender Balance Index in achieving continuous progress in this regard within high-level standards.
Exceptional opportunities
At the BRICS level, Mona Al Marri said in her speech that the group’s countries have exceptional opportunities to enhance women’s empowerment in governance and leadership through cooperation efforts and the development of joint initiatives, stressing the UAE’s keenness to share its experiences in this field and benefit from various other experiences, calling for the exchange of strategies and best practices aimed at reducing the gender gap in leadership, which will enable the group’s countries to gain common visions to overcome challenges and design solutions that suit the national, cultural and economic characteristics of each.
In conclusion, Mona Al Marri stressed that the UAE is fully committed to enhancing global cooperation to achieve further progress in gender balance, as it represents a strategy to enhance economic resilience and sustainable development. She said, “The cooperation we are working to achieve through the BRICS group has the potential to be a driving force for growth and transformation. By working closely between the group’s countries, we can overcome challenges and provide a better future in which female leaders play a greater role in achieving progress and prosperity.”
For her part, Mouza Al Suwaidi, Secretary-General of the UAE Gender Balance Council, stressed the critical importance of sustained international collaboration in promoting the widespread global adoption of gender balance. She said: “Platforms such as the BRICS meeting play a key role in promoting international collaboration, sharing best practices and collectively promoting women’s leadership. The UAE is keen to explore joint initiatives with other countries around the world to drive meaningful progress forward in gender balance. By fostering an environment where women are empowered in both governance and leadership, we can ensure that gender balance is deeply embedded in the fabric of society around the world. This collaboration is essential to creating a sustainable future where gender balance is the foundation across all sectors.”
