UAE Maternity Law review; Part-time shifts for women at work

In response to the direction of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, to review the Maternity Law, Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, President of Dubai Women Establishment (DWE) and wife of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, has directed the establishment of a committee to review the Maternity Law to provide women with a supportive work environment, in line with best international practices, and to activate the ‘Gender Balance Index’ across various sectors.

Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said that the activation of the ‘Gender Balance Index’ reflects the UAE leadership’s vision to enhance the role of women across all sectors of society and ensure their effective participation in the country’s economic development.

Sheikha Manal also highlighted that the UAE Gender Balance Council will be establishing a committee to review the Maternity Law and create a better work environment for women.

“We are working to activate the ‘Gender Balance Index’ across various sectors to enhance the role of women, and promote gender equality through encouraging female participation. In the next phase, the UAE Gender Balance Council will take the necessary steps to ensure that men and women have equal opportunities to participate in the sustainable development of the UAE and to achieve the country’s vision in terms of gender balance on a local, regional and global level,” Sheikha Manal said.

The UAE Gender Balance Council discussed a number of suggestions related to enhancing the role and contribution of women to the UAE’s economy through identifying and overcoming challenges, and increasing the percentage of women participating in the work environment through the introduction of part-time shifts in departments and companies.

Whilst chairing the second meeting of the UAE Gender Balance Council on behalf of Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice-President of the UAE Gender Balance Council stressed the importance of implementing a comprehensive strategy to bridge the gap between the two genders, based on a number of elements that enhance women's participation in political and leadership positions, along with their role as decision makers, whilst promoting women’s participation and contribution to the economy.

Achieving Objectives

Based on the directives of Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed, Mona Al Marri said that the UAE Gender Balance Council plans to enact its objectives through three stages, including developing legislations which help to achieve gender balance, creating equal opportunities for men and women across various sectors to meet international standards, and overseeing the implementation of these recommendations in the work environment to support the effective participation of women in the sustainable development process.

Mona Al Marri also highlighted the importance of the UAE Gender Balance Council’s participation in various international events, along with signing collaboration and partnership agreements with international organisations and governments that have reached the highest levels in terms of gender balance and female participation.

Reviews Data

The UAE Gender Balance Council also reviewed the UNDP ‘Gender Inequality Index’ and its data, which will help to enhance the UAE’s position on a regional and global scale.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Abdul Rahim Yousef Al Awadi, Assistant Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs; Abdullah Nasser Lootah, Director-General of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority; Nasser Al-Hamli, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation for Emiratisation Affairs, Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Saleh, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade and Industry Affairs; Dr. Abdul Rahman Al Awar, Director General of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources; Huda Al Hashimi, Assistant to the Director-General for Strategy and Innovation; Naji Al Hai, Acting Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Community Development; and Reem Al Falasi, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, assigned the UAE Gender Balance Council to activate the implementation of the ‘Gender Balance Index’ earlier this year, to enhance the country’s efforts in driving women’s participation in national development in line with UAE Vision 2021.

His Highness also instructed the Council to oversee the Index and the implementation of best practices and processes to ensure federal institutions achieve their gender balance targets, which will support the UAE’s vision to become one of the world’s top 25 countries for gender equality by 2021.

Supporting Individuals and Organisations

Through the activation of the “Gender Balance Index”, the UAE Gender Balance Council aims to support the efforts of individuals and organisations to enhance gender balance in the UAE via three initiatives. The first initiative includes documenting the efforts of supporting bodies through the “UAE Gender Balance Seal”; the second involves the implementation of the “UAE Gender Balance Order”; and the third is the establishment of the “Best Three UAE Gender Balance Initiatives Award”.

The UAE Gender Balance Council was established to reduce the gender gap across all government sectors in the country; enhance the UAE’s ranking in global reports on gender equality; and promote gender balance in decision-making positions. The Council also has set to launch innovative initiatives and projects that contribute to greater gender balance, which will position the UAE as a model for gender balance and a benchmark for legislation.

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