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The UAE has not spared any effort in its creation of an environment that supports women and enables them to play an important role in the success of the nation, with men as their partners in achieving the nation s goals and in establishing its greatness and progress. The Emirati women have proven their ability to easily manage the tasks assigned to them in various fields.

The UAE's leadership gives great importance to the empowerment of women and to advancing their status in all fields, especially since Emirati women have achieved many accomplishments in the past four decades since the establishment of the country,accomplishments that were supported by the prudent vision of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktouma, well as His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, who believed in the women s important role in the progress and prosperity of the nation and in the nation s ongoing journey of development and generosity.

The basis of this approach was established by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who founded the UAE and played an integral role in supporting women and including them in every field, making women equal partners of men in the process of building the nation as part of his innovative plans for development and for the advancement of humanitarian goals when he took over as Ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966 and later succeeded in establishing the UAE 43 years ago. It was included in the constitution that men and women should be equal, making a public admission of women s status and role in the advancement of the nation and its people.

H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF) and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, played an integral part in the provision of support and guidance to Emirati women and in the advancement of their status. As a result of her support in every field, women now hold 66 percent of governmental jobs, of which 30 percent are senior leadership decision-making positions and 15 percent are technical and academic jobs in fields such as medicine, pharmacology and nursing. Women are also undertaking important jobs in the regulatory sectors of the Armed Forces, Police and Customs departments.
Following this approach to the empowerment of women, the UAE announced during the Government Summit 2015 the establishment of the UAE Gender Balance Council under the leadership of Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women's Establishment, to support the Emirati women s role in all fields of work, as the equal distribution of men and women in the workplace has become one of the most important factors in the success and prosperity of civilised nations.

Gender balance with regard to both rights and duties is the primary path to achieving happiness, security, stability, a high standard of living and progress. Based on this concept, the UAE has been a leader in this domain as it has made men and women equal in all aspects of life and has achieved progress in women's empowerment by helping them achieve greater levels of success, which in turn advances society as a whole.

The establishment of this Council is a clear reflection of the prudent attention being paid by the government and leadership to the essential role of women in the nation s journey towards advancement in recognition of their great successes in every field. It also makes clear to the world that the UAE spares no effort to support women in the workplace and to provide them with opportunities to participate in achieving the nation s vision as equal partners of men in every field. The UAE is determined to provide greater stability and a higher standard of living for Emirati women. Abundant support and encouragement from the country's visionary leadership has been provided to national women since the UAE was established. The UAE is set to become a leading figure in achieving gender balance, a concept that is already part of the Emirati society's daily life.

This is especially clear in the UAE s efforts to eliminate all differences between genders in compliance with Emirati society's deep-rooted traditions. The UAE was built on the principle of inclusion of all individuals, whether men or women, in society, as described in the constitution with respect to rights and duties. The UAE is committed to providing women with rights that their counterparts in other countries have yet to receive, making the country a role model for others in the region and in the world for women's empowerment and support.

This will add a new dimension to the UAE's vision for women going forward, as their leadership and experience will help greatly in achieving the goals for which the Council was created. It will also provide women with more rights and opportunities to adopt a greater role in their partnerships with men to serve society. Women are tipped to get women 50 percent of the seats of the Federal National Council in the future, whereas they currently occupy only 15 percent of seats. In the future also, women are also expected to be granted 50 percent of the ministerial portfolios. These are all unprecedented gains for Emirati women.

H.H. Sheikha Fatima has announced Emirati Women s Day will be celebrated on August 28, 2015, as an annual event that will celebrate Emirati women and announce to the world that the UAE is a model for women's empowerment for many other countries in the region and the world. Emirati women have been considered partners to men on the road to development and generosity ever since the establishment of the UAE on December 2, 1971.

The UAE places great importance on the contribution of women to the diplomatic corps, having opened the doors for Emirati women to hold positions as diplomats in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in creating new procedures to ensure balance between women s familial duties and their careers. These measures have empowered Emirati women to work in the political arena by entering the diplomatic corps through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Emirati women have been assigned as ambassadors to Sweden, Spain and Montenegro and as a permanent representative of the UAE in the UN. The UAE's consul in China and general consul in Milan are also Emirati women. Other women have held senior positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where three female diplomats were assigned as administrative heads at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seven women were assigned to the diplomatic corps as vice presidents at the ministry s headquarters, and 54 women were assigned as department heads for the ministry in addition to their job at the headquarters.

The number of women currently employed in the diplomatic and consulate corps within the ministry s headquarters has reached 166 women, in addition to 29 women in the UAE s foreign diplomatic delegations, 96 women working in administrative posts in the civil service department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 4 women working in foreign administrative posts.