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ABU DHABI/WAM
During the annual UAE government meetings in Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, witnessed a pivotal agreement between the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council (ETCC), and the UAE Gender Balance Council (UAE GBC).
The agreement was signed by Ghannam Butti Al Mazrouei, Secretary-General of The Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council (ETCC), and Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, to boost Emirati women’s participation and leadership in the private sector through joint initiatives.
H.H. Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council and wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, expressed pride in this partnership, seeing it as a step forward for women’s leadership in alignment with UAE’s national vision. She emphasised the importance of private sector participation in promoting sustainable economic growth and praised ETCC’s success in enhancing Emirati talent in the workforce.
Her Highness highlighted the remarkable progress made by the ETCC over the past three years, noting its success in empowering Emirati talent and driving their involvement in the private sector across diverse professions. This growth, she emphasised, is shaping a sustainable economic future for the UAE, strengthened by the vision and support of wise leadership.
Her Highness highlighted the UAE’s unique partnership model with the private sector, Her Highness Sheikha Manal referenced the “Pledge to Accelerate Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals,” launched in 2022. The initiative aims to raise the representation of women in senior management to 30% by 2025, and many private sector entities have joined the pledge.
Ghannam Butti Al Mazrouei affirmed the value of this agreement in advancing Emiratisation and empowering women in leadership roles within private companies. He highlighted the pledge as a first-of-its-kind initiative globally, marking a robust partnership to achieve UAE’s national goals.
Ghannam Butti Al Mazrouei added, “We are proud of this partnership with the UAE Gender Balance Council, which aims to enhance gender diversity and empower women in leadership positions. We will also work to increase the participation of private sector companies within the pledge to accelerate the 5th SDG, a distinguished initiative that is the first of its kind.”
He stressed that the agreement will highlight the efforts of companies and institutions that contribute to empowering Emirati women and highlight their achievements in the private sector, and will highlight a number of distinguished success stories, which represent an incentive for more Emirati women’s contributions to supporting and developing the sustainable national economy.
Mona Al Marri expressed gratitude for ETCC’s support, underscoring how gender balance positively impacts business growth. She noted that the agreement will foster leadership pathways for Emirati women, with programs such as the “Nafis Award” recognising top-performing companies in this arena. This collaboration will further enable data sharing to build effective strategies for increasing Emirati talent in the private sector and achieving sustainable development.
In the fourth meeting for the year 2024, the UAE Gender Balance Council reviewed achievements and upcoming initiatives to promote gender balance across all sectors and enhance global partnerships.