UAE working mothers: Five parliamentary recommendations that could change how you balance work and family life

Dubai: A parliamentary report adopted by the Federal National Council during its last session affirmed that balancing the participation of Emirati women in the labor market with their family role is one of the fundamental pillars of the UAE’s approach to building a cohesive society and a prosperous economy. Since the founding of the state, the leadership has given strategic attention to empowering women and ensuring their effective contribution to sustainable development, without compromising their pivotal role in the family as the primary incubator of values and national identity. The report presented five solutions and recommendations aimed at achieving a balance between work requirements and family responsibilities, in a way that contributes to supporting working mothers and enhancing family stability. In detail, the report on protecting the family, its concept, and its structure, issued by the Council's Committee on Social Affairs, Labour, Population, and Human Resources, affirmed that the participation of Emirati women in the labor market is a national achievement reflecting the success of government policies in empowering female talent and enhancing their role in economic development. However, this expansion in participation has had indirect social effects, including a decrease in family care time and increased psychological pressures on working mothers, which has affected family stability and the balance of roles within it. This necessitates the development of supportive policies that balance economic empowerment with family responsibilities to ensure family security and stability. The report noted that the UAE has implemented numerous policies and initiatives to address the challenges associated with women's professional lives and their impact on family life. These include flexible working hours, the establishment of specialised workplace nurseries, and initiatives by the Family Council. However, despite these policies and initiatives aimed at supporting working mothers in the UAE, several challenges continue to hinder achieving a balance between work and family life. The report identified five recommendations for balancing the participation of Emirati mothers in the labour market with their family role, including: Issuing a regulatory decision for federal entities that establishes a unified national classification of jobs in terms of their suitability for flexible and remote work. It sets specific timeframes for deciding on applications, with the requirement to issue a written, reasoned decision in case of rejection. In addition, it creates a clear and time-bound administrative grievance process within each federal entity to review applications for flexible and remote work, in coordination with the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources. Cooperating with the relevant authorities to implement flexible and remote work models in the public and private sectors, especially for priority groups (mothers of children under 12 years old, pregnant women, humanitarian cases, elderly care, and people of determination). Amending maternity leave in the public sector to 98 days with full pay to align with global practices, allowing for the division of maternity leave after childbirth, especially in cases where the woman has premature babies, while ensuring that the rights of working women are not affected with regard to retirement, training, promotion, and entitlement to other leave, in coordination with the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources. The recommendations included activating the ministerial decision regarding the establishment of nurseries in institutions that have not complied with it, and reviewing the decision while studying the possibility of not specifying the number of female employees in the institution as a condition for the existence of a nursery, in coordination with the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources. In addition, there was a recommendation to equalise working women in the private sector with the government sector, through launching a national program that grants incentives (tax exemptions, priority in government procurement, fee reduction, institutional recognition) to institutions that adopt policies that support the family, in cooperation with the concerned authorities.