DUBAI, 31st March, 2021 (WAM) -- Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, President of Dubai Women Establishment, and wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, extended her sincere congratulations to the UAE’s leadership and the Mother of the Nation, Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF), on the UAE ranking first across the Arab world in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report for the year 2021. The UAE also ranked first globally in four of the report’s indicators: women in parliament; sex ratio at birth; literacy rate; and enrolment in primary education.

She praised the UAE’s leadership for their unwavering support for women across all fields, reflected in recent legislative reforms, initiatives and policies that work towards increasing gender balance and ensuring women’s equal contribution to the nation’s development. Her Highness added that over the past two years, amendments have been made to more than 20 legal articles, which resulted in a quantum leap in the UAE’s ranking in the WEF Global Gender Gap Report. The UAE has advanced 48 ranks in just one year, rising from the 120th rank to the 72nd globally.

The 2021 WEF Global Gender Gap Report identifies the UAE as the most-improved country in the world for women in parliament. It also states that the UAE has closed 71.6% of its gender gaps to date.

Sheikha Manal further highlighted that this new achievement reflects the UAE’s commitment to becoming a global model across all fields in line with the ‘Towards the next 50’ plan. She expressed her pride in Emirati women’s achievements, highlighting their effective and widespread contribution and representation across government, the economy and society, as well as in leadership and decision making positions in the public and private sectors.

She said: "Emirati women’s parliamentary representation in the Federal National Council is 50% and their ministerial representation is 27.5%, which are among the highest in the world. My sincerest congratulations to Emirati women on their distinct achievements."

Sheikha Manal expressed her gratitude for the efforts of the UAE Gender Balance Council members as well as representatives from ministries and federal agencies, all of whom have worked to advance gender balance through legislative reform, and proposed new legislation that enhances women’s status and participation across society. She said that the UAE’s global successes in the field of gender balance, which are reflected in the country’s advanced ranks in international reports and global competitiveness indicators, highlight that gender balance is a continued priority within the national agenda.