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Women are the drivers of the nation’s economy, pointed out HH
Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah, at the inauguration of the ‘Investing in the Future’ (IFFMENA) conference on Wednesday. Women’s participation in economic activities is crucial as it ensures that they play a huge role in the decision-making process and implement policies effectively.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report clearly shows that the UAE is fast moving towards gender parity, while literacy is increasing. The country today has four cabinet women ministers. It has 9 women members in the FNC. Interestingly, women represent 49 percent of the UAE’s population and yet dominate the country’s national job market as 66 percent of government jobs — 30 percent of which are senior decision-making positions — are held by them. Around 15 percent of the UAE University’s faculty is women. Women account for 60 percent of technical jobs in the pharmaceutical, education, medicine and nursing sectors. The armed forces, police and the customs departments also have women in them. A 29-year-old Emirati woman is at the forefront of the UAE’s national space programme. There are many ventures and SMEs in the UAE which are being run by women. In a number of organizations, it is they who are at the helm. The Emirates Businesswomen Council has 14,000 members who run 11,000 investment projects worth AED 12.5 billion.
The recent opening of the United Nations Women Liaison Office for the GCC in Abu Dhabi reflects the importance that the UN attaches to the UAE in achieving gender equality. The women liaison office must devise plans to boost women’s participation in meeting the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It has to encourage women to join the developmental process of the nation. As the UAE Vision 2021 envisages greater participation of women in national development, a huge thrust has to be given to bring females into the nation-building process as well as guarantee their economic empowerment.
If a country invests in education, well-being and independence of today’s
10-year-old girls, its economy would gain an additional $21 billion over the next 15 years. This is what the latest study of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says. Right policies and institutions to develop human capital — including women empowerment — will catapult economic progress of a nation.
When women get the right education, they will feel liberated from within. Using emancipation and freedom with wisdom and understanding will enable them to contribute towards economic growth. It will also enhance business management and returns on investment. The UAE Gender Balance Council was formed to roll out programmes that are aimed at women’s advancement and building their capacity. Recently, it was entrusted with the job to set up the Gender Inequality Index too. This index will be instrumental in closing the gender gap.
During the ‘Investing in the Future’ conference, the idea to introduce a UAE Ministry for Women’s Affairs was mooted. Such a ministry is the need of the hour. It will give women more say in new financial strategies that are formulated, while solidifying their roles in economic plans. Women’s growth and economic development can’t be taken in isolation. They are interlinked and ways to make this correlation strong is vital. Investment in women’s emancipation through education and national development plans will translate into economic progress. Increased women representation would mean increased holistic development.