Davos, Switzerland: The UAE Gender Balance Council has organised the 7th edition of the Global Gender Circle in Davos, Switzerland, under the title “Public-Private Partnerships for Measurable Progress.” The session discussed the “SDG 5 Pledge to Accelerate Gender Balance in the UAE Private Sector” to explore the positive impacts of the initiative.
The seminar was held in the UAE pavilion at the World Economic Forum, where Ms. Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, and several officials of UAE private sector companies signed the pledge.
The pledge was officially launched in early 2022 to achieve gender balance in the private sector and increase the percentage of women’s participation in leadership positions to 30 percent by 2025.
According to Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, the organisation of the Global Gender Circle comes in light of the Council’s keenness to strengthen its international partnerships and highlight the tireless efforts of the UAE to enhance global communication.
Strategic partnerships between the government and the private sector are vital for achieving national goals at all levels, especially with its growing role as a significant driver of the global economy, and the role of the private sector is essential in achieving sustainable development. The inspiring goal of the UAE private sector pledge to accelerate the 5th goal of sustainable development goals and enhance gender balance in the private sector is a model for the region and the world.
Sheikha Manal remarked.
According to Ms. Mona Al Marri, the topics raised for discussion during the 7th session touched on the most prominent challenges of gender balance and explored current as well as future opportunities to overcome them.
Ms. Al Marri further shared that “we are pleased that the companies that signed the pledge are meeting together, as this represents an ideal opportunity to discuss the impact of this initiative and the value of joint work across various sectors to establish gender balance.”
The seminar served as a vital platform for exchanging visions and ideas among the participants including discussions on the impact of this initiative, the value of working across sectors to embed gender balance at the organisation level as well as across the broader economy, and to unpack the effects of the incredible successes that are possible when government and the private sector work as equal partners to face gender balance challenges.
Sheikha Manal launched the “Global Gender Circle” initiative in 2017 as an inspiring platform to promote global dialogue on the best policies supporting gender balance at all levels.