Top officials during a virtual dialogue session on Thursday.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) organised a virtual dialogue session titled “Emirati Women in the financial Field.. Achievements and ambitions” on Thursday, in cooperation with the General Women’s Union in Dubai. The session aimed at highlighting the UAE’s efforts in providing an environment that supports the empowerment and leadership of Emirati women and activating their role in the financial field.

The virtual session was opened by Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of MoF and participated by Mariam Al Amiri, Undersecretary, Financial Management Sector at MoF, Arifa Saleh Al Falahi, Board member of Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Fatima Abdullah Al Jabri, Assistant Governor for Anti-Money Laundering Compliance - Market Conduct Regulation and Consumer Protection Department, and Awatif Al Harmoodi, General Manager of Operational Governance at Emirates Islamic, in addition to a number of women leaders from the Ministry of Finance and its strategic partners.

In his welcoming speech, Younis Haji Al Khoori pointed out that Emirati women has played an important role in the UAE’s, and she represents a corner stone in the renaissance of the nation. Also, Emirati women have been highly appreciated by the wise leadership, as the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan (may God have mercy upon him), the founding father of the United Arab Emirates, laid the foundations for the empowerment of Emirati women in all fields, including the financial sector.

Al Khoori said: “Women are facing a range of challenges in terms of providing opportunities to play their role equally as the men, and our wise leadership played a big role in providing them with all needed support to achieve success where they created a supportive environment to stimulate the release of their potential and creativity. The National Strategy for Empowerment of Emirati Women in the UAE for 2015-2021, has developed solutions and plans to overcome these challenges, to integrate roles between men and women, and to build a strong and cohesive society capable of keeping pace with emerging changes.”

He added: “Legislation and laws that supports the increase of women’s in the Boards of Directors of local companies within the government and private sectors, stimulated women’s presence and contribution to macroeconomic development and woman to get leadership positions in the UAE. The UAE was the first country in the region and 2nd in the world to issue a requiring legislation in year 2012 by the UAE Cabinet to present women on the board of directors of companies and government bodies. This was followed by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) decision on the requirement to have a representation of women on the Board of Directors in each company listed in the country’s financial markets, with not less than one member. These led to score the UAE the first place in the Mena region rankings in World Bank’s ‘Women, Business and the Law’ 2021 report, and jump to the 18th position globally and maintain its first ranking regionally in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2020 Gender Inequality Index (GII) issued last December.

His Excellency mentioned that the Ministry of Finance has made great efforts in empowering women, including contributing to the establishment of the UAE Gender Balance Council and cooperating with it to develop a study that quantify budgets for gender balance. MoF also coordinates its efforts with the Council on its projects with international financial organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank. These effective efforts in women’s empowerment have resulted in recognising MoF as the best federal authority supporting gender balance in the UAE in 2019.

His Excellency concluded his speech by addressing young girls and distinguished women leaders in the country: “We are proud of you, and you are an asset to the UAE. You have proven your excellence and your ability to compete and become a vital part in the equation of success and development. You have been distinguished in all sectors where you recorded great achievements in areas that were the preserved of men, such as financial work, the armed forces, politics, space, energy, and others. You should continue to explore your talents and abilities, overcome all difficulties, and continue to be a symbol of giving, ambition, and creativity and a partner for men in the overall development of the nation. Today, we are celebrating great leaders that have been a unique model in national giving in all fields.” In her intervention during the session, Mariam Al Amiri pointed out that there are several successful women’s leading MoF’s key departments and sectors. 39.13% of women at MoF are in leadership positions and 84.46% of women are Emirati youth.