The UAE Gender Balance Council (UAE GBC) played a prominent role at the recent OECD Forum on Gender Equality in Paris. The forum, held June 10th and 11th, brought together a global audience of leaders, experts, and organizations to discuss strategies for achieving gender equality amidst rapid technological and environmental change.
Mona Al Marri, Vice President of the UAE GBC, participated in a key session titled “Leveraging Government Tools and Data for Inclusive Global Transitions.” This session focused on how governments can utilize data and policy tools to bridge gender gaps and ensure women’s participation in the green and digital economies. Al Marri highlighted the UAE’s commitment to gender balance, citing initiatives like the “Framework for Gender Balance in the 4th Industrial Revolution” and the “National Program for Coders” which equip women with skills in artificial intelligence.
The UAE boasts a strong track record of female representation in STEM fields, with women comprising over half of public university graduates in these areas. Al Marri emphasized the importance of female leadership, noting that women currently hold nearly 30% of ministerial positions in the UAE government.
She also discussed the importance of recognizing organizations that prioritize gender balance. The UAE’s National Gender Balance Index annually honors institutions for their efforts, while the “SDG 5 Pledge to Accelerate Women’s Leadership in the UAE Private Sector” aims to increase female leadership roles to 30% by 2025.
Al Marri stressed that leveraging technology can help identify and address gender gaps in both public and private sectors. By collecting and analyzing data on gender disparities in the green and digital sectors, governments can implement targeted policies to promote equal opportunity.
A key element of achieving gender equality is “Gender Responsive Budgeting.” This approach allocates resources to programs that educate and empower women, creating a more inclusive financial landscape. The UAE GBC is working with the Ministry of Finance on a gender-responsive budget project to ensure that financial strategies support both environmental and gender equality goals.
On the sidelines of the forum, Al Marri met with Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD. They discussed strengthening the partnership between the UAE GBC and the OECD, which has yielded initiatives like “The Gender Balance Guide” and a toolkit for advancing global gender balance practices. Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to working together to promote gender equality on a regional and international scale.
