UAE Gender Balance Committee boosts collaboration with IPU

Dubai: The UAE’s Gender Balance Council (GBC) on Monday discussed new ways to strengthen its collaboration with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a global organization of parliaments, to accelerate international efforts to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 related to the empowerment of girls around the world and women.

Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice-Chairman of the UAE Gender Balance Council and Chair of the United Nations Global Commission for the Fifth Sustainable Development Goals, met with Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Secretary-General and Global Commission member Martin Chungong on Monday, on the sidelines of the World Government Summit (WGS) 2023 , will announce the fifth United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The meeting was part of the UAE Gender Balance Council’s World Government Summit activities, an event held under the patronage of Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the UAE Gender Balance Council, Chairperson of Dubai Women’s Institute and wife of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan , Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidency.

Global leaders, senior officials and representatives of international organizations at the forefront of promoting gender balance are participating in these events.

During the meeting, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen international efforts to promote women’s empowerment, protect women’s rights and strengthen women’s leadership roles in government departments around the world.

The two parties agreed to develop a joint plan focused on promoting gender balance, with a particular focus on government and parliament.

Mona Al Marri said Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed’s support for the UN’s Global Commission on the Fifth Sustainable Development Goals reflects the UAE government’s commitment to support the UN’s efforts to accelerate its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Al Marri also thanked the Inter-Parliamentary Union, led by Martin Chungong, for its cooperation and support for the Global Council’s initiatives and projects aimed at advancing the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

One of the key achievements of the UN Global Commission on Sustainable Development Goal 5 during the 2018-2021 period was the development of the “Global Gender Balance Advanced Practice Toolkit”, which provides guidelines, global legislative models and practical policies for gender balance integration Promote women’s empowerment in government, the private sector and society.

The project was developed by the Global Council in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Al Marri said that IPUI has made a significant contribution to building institutional partnerships and strengthening people-to-people connections to promote global gender balance.

Its comprehensive research sheds new light on building a strong gender-balanced culture in parliaments around the world.

The IPU continues its efforts to increase women’s representation in parliaments worldwide, which currently stands at 26.4%.

Martin Chungong applauded the UAE’s steadfast efforts to improve women’s empowerment and gender balance, which has resulted in the country’s high ranking in the Global Gender Balance Index.

He said the vision of the UAE leadership empowers women so that they can make a significant contribution to the social and economic development of the UAE.

The two sides discussed opportunities to strengthen cooperation to increase the participation of women in all spheres of life around the world, as well as from the UAE Gender Balance Committee last year with the World Bank to promote the development of gender balance expertise in the region.

The two organizations also agreed to organize a virtual global workshop to further discuss the Global Commission’s project and conduct joint research on the positive impact of having more women in the region’s parliaments.

The study will draw on the UAE’s success in gender balance.

Women make up 50 percent of the UAE’s Federal National Council (FNC). In the Global Competitiveness Report published by the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland, the UAE ranks first in the world for female representation in Parliament in 2020 and 2021.

Female parliamentary representation is also ranked first in the World Economic Forum’s 2021 and 2022 Global Gender Gap Report.

At the World Government Summit 2023, the UAE Gender Balance Council is keen to strengthen its global partnerships as part of its efforts to enhance the UAE’s status as a global leader in gender balance.

Under the auspices of Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Gender Balance Forum and the Women in Government Forum, organized at the World Summit of Governments 2023, brought together thought leaders from the region and around the world to discuss new approaches to promoting gender balance. Opportunities and women’s participation in government.

Both events feature rich dialogue among global leaders, public and private sector officials, and representatives of international organizations with expertise in developing gender policy.