Saturday, November 10, 2018
HE Mona Al Marri:
• “We discussed international partnerships as well as the approach of the Ministry of Finance with regards to the budget for gender balance.”
• “We are working in collaboration with the Prime Minister’s Office on the results of the second edition of the Gender Balance Index.”
The UAE Gender Balance Council reiterates its commitment to strengthen strategic international partnerships and cooperation in the field of gender balance, as well as Emirati women’s representation in the 2019 Federal National Council elections. This will be achieved through initiatives and collaborations with relevant federal entities, in line with the directives of Her Highness 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, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. This step also contributes to the council’s efforts to reduce the gender gap in all sectors across the UAE and the UAE’s ranking in the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Gender Inequality Index and UAE’s position in global competitiveness indicators.
The third UAE Gender Balance Council meeting of 2018 was held at the premises of the General Secretariat of the Cabinet at Emirates Towers. The meeting, which was headed by HE Mona Al Marri, Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, deliberated the initiatives and projects in 2019 as part of the Council’s approved annual plan.
Strengthening strategic partnerships
The Council members discussed efforts to strengthen international partnerships in the near future, and reviewed recent activities that aimed to enhance strategic cooperation locally and internationally, including a meeting with the Government Communication team of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi as well as the Women Empowerment team. The UAE Gender Balance Council also met last month a joint Bahraini delegation from the Equal Opportunities Committee of the Shura Council of Bahrain and the Supreme Council for Women. All entities agreed on strengthening the cooperation, equal opportunities, exchange of knowledge and best practices, and cooperation between them in the field of gender balance, drawing upon the experiences gained by both countries in this area, thus highlighting the distinguished relations between the UAE and Bahrain. During the meeting, attendees discussed proposed initiatives in line with the Council’s continuous efforts to reduce the gender gap in various UAE sectors.
Budgets for gender balance
HE Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, delivered a presentation highlighting the ministry’s approach to allocating the budget for gender balance in the UAE. This is in line with the ministry’s belief that incorporating a budget for gender balance within the government’s budget plays an instrumental role in enhancing gender balance on a local and global scale. Furthermore, the Ministry and the Council, in cooperation with the World Bank Group (WBG), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations Women, reviewed other global experiences in this area. The Ministry and Council are now looking into developing a proposal for allocating federal budgets for gender balance based on international best practices.
International cooperation
The meeting also discussed the upcoming initiatives and projects which will be executed with various countries and international organizations, as part of the Council’s strategic partnerships for knowledge exchange and implementation of best practices to enhance gender balance in the work place and to achieve Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
HE Mona Al Marri highlighted the Council’s continuous e
