Day Six - A Dual Dialogue on Gender Equality and STEM Policy
One of the key words that we have heard repeatedly throughout our UAE cultural diplomacy exchange is the term “tolerance.” Meant to encompass harmony, respect, and acceptance, 2019 was UAE’s official Year of Tolerance, a thematic focus meant to strengthen their role on the global stage as a center of multiculturalism and peace. The term appeared at our visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, our discussions with students at the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy, NYU Abu Dhabi, and the American University of Sharjah, and at the incredible World Expo Site in Dubai.
As a Canadian gender expert who has worked with a number of countries on issues of gender equality, development, racial equity, and human rights, I think the question I kept asking myself throughout our visit was “but how tolerant?” Arab States continue to have the lowest labour force participation by women globally, according to the International Labour Union, and several Sustainable Development Goal targets remain far from being reached in the region. The Middle East and North Africa region also remains the region with the highest concentration of gender discriminatory nationality laws globally. I therefore entered our discussions on these issues in the UAE with a spirit of healthy skepticism: in the “tough neighbourhood” of a tumultuous region such as the Middle East, how much progress could actually be made on these issues?
It turns out that with enough political will and resources, significant progress can indeed be achieved. Our group had the incredible opportunity to meet with Her Excellency Shamsa Saleh, Secretary General of the UAE Gender Balance Council, on March 4. I was excited to be able to provide opening remarks for our session and I was candid: gender equality has yet to be achieved in all regions of the world, but the context of the Middle East is uniquely challenging. What followed was a truly impressive presentation and an extraordinarily open discussion with Her Excellency Saleh on the incredible progress that the UAE has made over the short 50 years that it has been a nation.
From the 1970’s, when only 1/5 school graduates were women, to now, where UAE is ranked 18th globally by the United Nations Development Programme for gender equality (2020), the UAE is truly a leader in the region on gender equality and an example of the power of political mobilization for equality. For example, the UAE is the first Arab country to implement parental leave and to remove all gender restrictions on labour laws (2019). The UAE sits at nearly 30% female ministers, and since 2006, has required nurseries in government entities for working parents. In addition to these issues, our discussion covered other such varied topics including the representation of women on boards, private sector partnerships, international leadership, and gender responsive budgeting. All of these areas also noted the UAE’s commitment to data collection, program follow-up, and progress measurement, the type of evidence-based systems analysis that many G7 states still aspire to.
Is there still progress to be made? Absolutely, as there is everywhere. To quote Her Excellency Saleh, “sometimes it is challenging to be told where your gaps are and what work needs to be done.” Yet the UAE’s determination to find these gaps and improve them is clearly evident. As the UAE is currently ranked 72 in the 2021 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report and is the Arab World Leader, significant work is already being done, with what I believe are more successes to follow. I myself have my own preconceptions about the Arab world’s progress on gender equality to continue interrogating, and I believe the world does as well. The UAE is a clear example of the progress being made to create a more equal, inclusive, and progressive Middle East.
If I have one takeaway from these eye-opening discussions, it’s that the UAE, tolerance is not simply a buzzword. It is a call to action.
-Leah Schmidt
During the last day of our journey in the UAE, we had the incredible opportunity to meet Her Excellency Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency. This meeting was part of a comprehensive day-long program that also included a visit to the Dubai Museum of Future, which is strictly connected to space exploration and disruptive technologies, including AI, and their strategic role in the prosperity of humanity and our home, planet Earth. As a professional with an extensive background in engineering and an active career in aerospace, I was impressed by the maturity of the UAE vision with respect to these topics and the determination with which the nation is pursuing extremely challenging objectives both in space and on Earth.
The morning meeting with HE Sarah Al Amiri was especially inspirational for all of us and, looking at her career, it is encouraging to note the high role that the UAE places on STEM professionals. HE Sarah Al Amiri built her own path when the space industry was still a novelty in the country and she contributed greatly to the development of the UAE space program, having a central role in the remarkable achievement of the UAE probe “HOPE” which reached Mars about a year ago. Her evolution from a background in computer engineering to a leadership position in the UAE government underlines the importance that STEM will have in the upcoming years.
The visit to the Museum of the Future in Dubai offered us a look at the UAE of the 2070’s, with many different immersive experiences centered on AI, biotechnologies, space, sustainable mobility, and more. Although predicting the evolution of technology in the next 50 years is an extremely difficult task, the importance and value of the museum is measured in its ability to highlight these technologies as critical in correlation to the role they can and will play with respect to worldwide problems e.g., the preservation of natural habitats and sustainable energy production.
Despite the great impact that technology has on our lives, there is an overall low level of consciousness about technology-related topics, both in the media and in more traditional branches of government. This issue was at the center of many discussions, and it was incredibly valuable to collect insights about how to support a more effective involvement of the public, the scientific community, and how to interact with the commercial market. Acknowledging these gaps and their potential negative impacts on the strategic development of a country is the first step towards a future in which STEM policy will be more and more embedded in national and international regulation. On this point, the UAE is clearly stating leadership in the region, and in many ways, they will be inspirational for other countries both in the Arab and Western worlds.
-Emilio Fazzoletto
