The road to parity: Understanding gender diversity in the UAE  

Gender equality is a hot topic with many reports, publications and news articles on the issue (and quite rightly so). The more conversations about this key issue in the public domain the better as it will lead to change. The conversations are now global and are taking place within the UAE and Middle East, which is a further promising sign.

It was timely then to see Naseba and the Ministry of the Economy jointly present “The road to parity: Understanding gender diversity in the UAE”. We highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in gender equality in the UAE as it’s an excellent read with some interesting insights into the progress women are making in the region. It follows the Global WIL Economic Forum that took place in Abu Dhabi on November 2nd and 3rd 2015 as part of the Women in Leadership Series. There numerous excellent discussions and panels for attendees to join and we look forward to attending 2016’s event.

The report shows that while there has been progress, there is still a lot of progress to be made. What struck us was the sometimes stark difference in the opinions between men and women on opportunities for women, particularly in regards to entrepreneurship and sitting on a board. While 74% of men thought women were given the same chance as men to become an entrepreneur, only 44% of women did. It shows to us at WOMENA there is a gap between men and women that needs to be bridged for full equality to take place.

There is a lot of interesting insights and analysis displayed in an easy to read format. We encourage you to read it and share your opinions in the comments below!