The UAE Gender Balance Council recently participated in a roundtable with the Wilson Centre, as part of a series of introductory meetings held in Washington DC.

The roundtable was held to explore the key projects of both entities, including the council’s 'Gender Balance Guide: Actions for UAE Organisations', as well as the Wilson Centre’s Global Women’s Leadership Initiative, and discuss collaborative opportunities.

The roundtable was led by Mona Al Marri, Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, and Gwen Young, Director of the Global Women’s Leadership Initiative at the Wilson Centre, with participation from gender experts and consultants representing the International Finance Corporation; the Women in Public Service Project, WPSP; the United States Agency for International Development, USAID; Johns Hopkins University; the George Washington University Medical Faculty; The Harbour Group; Smash Strategies and employees from the UAE Embassy in Washington, D.C.

During the session, Al Marri introduced the UAE Gender Balance Council, which was formed under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to enhance the UAE’s position in global reports, achieve gender balance in decision-making roles, and position the UAE as a role model in gender balance. She also explained the UAE Gender Balance Council’s responsibilities, which include making recommendations on regulations, policies, programmes and initiatives, as well as promoting the UAE’s status as a benchmark for gender balance legislation, and implementing the national Gender Balance Indicators, GBIs in cooperation with local and federal government entities.

Al Marri highlighted that thanks to the strong level of support from the UAE’s wise leadership, women in the UAE today represent 70 percent of university students, 46.6 percent of the workforce and 66 percent of government sector workers – 30 percent of which are in leadership roles, and 15 percent are in technical and academic roles.

A key focus of the meeting was the recently-launched 'Gender Balance Guide: Actions for UAE Organisations', a first-of-its-kind in the world, which was developed in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD. Al Marri shared insights into the UAE’s experience in developing such a comprehensive resource, which helps public and private entities in the UAE to enhance gender balance in the workplace. The guide supports the objectives of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and includes information about implementing responsive budgets on an organisational level to narrow the gender gap.

"The roundtable with the Wilson Centre provided a platform to explore the UAE’s experiences in developing the world’s first gender balance guide for the workplace, and gain insights to help us establish the UAE as a role model for gender balance, regionally and internationally, through our international partnerships," she concluded.