If there is one quality that marks Emirati women, it is that they are at par with their male counterparts. Nowhere have they been made to feel that they are inferior to them at any level. And this is because they have a formidable support from the leaders of the nation who want to see them forge ahead in virtually every field, including mapping new frontiers in space.

Throughout 2020 and 2021, Emirati women have been in the forefront of the UAE attained achievements in several areas at both local and global levels.

Backward they certainly are not. On the other hand, they have been the lodestars of the UAE’s growth. Their role was embodied in the arrival of the “Hope Probe” to the orbit of planet Mars, the beginning of the successful and safe operation of the first reactor at the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, in addition to their success and leadership in efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic locally and globally.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Emirati women have harnessed all the potential they can muster to contain the repercussions of this epidemic. As model workers in the frontline of healthcare, they have conducted themselves remarkably. They have exerted every effort to protect and care for all family members throughout this crisis and their remarkable benevolent work has contributed to providing support and assistance to all affected groups.

Emirati women have also been shining in the field of diplomacy. They hold various diplomatic positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, where they make up over 42 per cent of the workforce.

There are nine Emirati women ambassadors, in addition to one Consul General, representing the country abroad.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’s approach in empowering Emirati women confirms the vision of the wise Emirati leadership to support and empower Emirati women as an integral part of Emirati society, and women’s active role alongside men to contribute to the comprehensive development process the country is witnessing.

Emirati women have shown their active presence in the field of advanced sciences. This role was evident in the Hope Probe project, as they made up 34% of the team, writing a new page of the country’s history. Emirati women also constituted 80% of the probe’s scientific team, aiming to provide humanity with the first comprehensive study of the climate of the Red Planet.

Emirati women’s contribution to the field of sciences and advanced sciences were also palpable in yet another historic achievement for the country: the UAE’s peaceful nuclear programme, marked by the launch of safe and successful operations at the first unit of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, and its successful connection to the national power grid marking the arrival of the first megawatt of environmentally friendly electricity to homes and commercial buildings. Emirati women make up nearly 20% of the total employees of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and its subsidiaries Nawah Energy Company and Barakah Al Oula Company, one of the highest percentages in the nuclear energy sector worldwide.

They have also excelled in the soft power fields. According to the Emirates Scientists Council, the percentage of female enrolment in “information technology” is 54%, while it has reached 81% in the fields of science, and 43% in the fields of engineering, and represented 81% of Emiratis in health sector jobs and 51% of Emiratis in engineering assistant jobs in 2019.

It is little wonder then that the UAE ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa in the “women, Business and Law 2021” report, issued by the World Bank, also ranking 18th globally and first among Arab countries in the Gender Equality Index issued by the United Nations Development Programme for the year 2020.