A recent report by the World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2022, conducted across 146 countries, provides an analysis of the current state of gender parity, found that the global gender gap has been closed by 68.1%. At the current rate of progress, it will take 132 years to reach full parity. 

“Widening work-related gender gaps increase the need for social and worker protection, reskilling and reintegration opportunities, strengthened care infrastructure, strengthening female leadership in industries where women are underrepresented, and a more proactive approach to preparing the ground for gender parity in the growing industries of the future,” said Saadia Zahidi, managing director of WEF, in a statement. 

With an average population-weighted score of 63.4%, the report found that the Middle East and North Africa have the second-largest gender gap yet to close, after South Asia. The region’s gender score remains similar to the last edition, which gives the Middle East and North Africa a timeframe to close the gap of 115 years. 

The best-performing countries in the Arab world are UAE, Israel and Lebanon, while Qatar and Oman were the worst-performing countries, as per the report. This year’s most improved countries in the region, compared to 2021, are Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Kuwait. 

The women in leadership in the UAE reflect the country’s progress in striking a balance in gender parity. Across industries as diverse as education, space, environment, fintech, and entrepreneurship, women play an important role as key drivers of the nation’s progress in socio-economic development. 

The UAE ranked first in the Arab world in balancing gender parity and is also among global leaders in ministerial representation, with 27.5% of female ministers, in addition to its high representation in the labor market, specialized jobs, and jobs of the future.

H.H. Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, president of the UAE Gender Balance Council, President of Dubai Women Establishment, and wife of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, congratulated the wise leadership and H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, chairwoman of the General Women’s Union (GWU), president of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and supreme chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF), on the UAE’s new achievement in gender balance by ranking first in the Arab world in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Gender Gap Report 2022. 

“The UAE Gender Balance Strategy 2022-2026, launched in March, aims to achieve UAE leadership and global influence in this field and to enhance the representation of women in leadership positions and across sectors, through gender mainstreaming and meaningful local and international partnerships, in alignment with the goals and pillars of the next fifty-years-plan and the vision of our wise leadership,” said Sheikha Manal in a statement. 

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