Hanan Ahli also discussed ways to strengthen relations in the field of gender balance with the representatives of the countries participating in the meetings…reports Asian Lite News
The UAE Gender Balance Council participated in the meetings of the G20 EMPOWER Alliance which were held in the state of Kerala, India, on April 5-6.
The meetings of the EMPOWER Alliance held under the chairmanship of India, which this year holds the presidency of the G20 EMPOWER Alliance, included discussion sessions over two days under the slogan “Empowering Women: A Win for Both Sides for Equity and the Economy”, during which many issues were discussed, including the challenges being faced by women in entrepreneurship. Ways to advance women’s entrepreneurship were also discussed, including through guidance, capacity building, and enhancing their access to markets and financing, and the role of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and innovation disciplines in expanding the scope of women’s work in these sectors, empowering women’s leadership at all levels, and enhancing their quality of life.
The Council’s delegation is headed by Hanan Mansoor Ahli, a Member of the UAE Gender Balance Council, Managing Director of the Federal Competitiveness & Statistics Centre, and participation of Ayat Al Salmi, Lead Projects Manager in the Council.
They reviewed the UAE’s experience in supporting women in the advanced sciences sector and the mechanisms for achieving the pillars of the gender balance strategy in the country. Hanan Ahli also discussed ways to strengthen relations in the field of gender balance with the representatives of the countries participating in the meetings.
G20 EMPOWER Alliance was launched to empower and advance women’s economic representation during the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan in 2019, and aims to accelerate women’s leadership and empowerment in the private sector by benefiting from the unique cooperation between business leaders and governments in the G20 EMPOWER Alliance.
During her participation in the meetings, Hanan Ahli affirmed that the UAE government believes in the need to adapt international best practices to the general context of the country, explaining that over the past few years, legislation and policies have been passed that promote gender balance in all fields, and establish women’s rights to full and effective participation, not only in economics but also in decision-making.
She also shed light on the strategy for gender balance in the country, which was developed by the UAE Gender Balance Council, under the directives of H.H. Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council and wife of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court.
The strategy aims to achieve the UAE’s global influence in this file and to enhance the presence of women in leadership positions and the economic sector, pointing out that this strategy includes 4 main pillars: economic participation, entrepreneurship, & financial inclusion; well-being; protections, and international partnerships & leadership.
“To achieve these priorities, an empowerment system has been developed that focuses on 4 enablers, the first of which is proposing policies and initiatives that promote gender equality in all sectors, and the second is paying attention to statistical data to follow up the progress of women’s economic participation and motivating state institutions by honouring the winners of the gender balance index at the national level,” she said. (ANI/WAM)
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