Equal Wages for Women and men approved by UAE Cabinet

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

The United Arab Emirates’ cabinet approved a bill guaranteeing equal pay for men and women as the Gulf nation strives to bring more females into its workforce.

The 'law on equal wages and salaries for men and women' will ensure that women have equal opportunities as partners in the UAE's development. It will also empower women to lead future national strategies and ambitious projects, it was announced on Tuesday.

Announcing the law on Twitter, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said the country's constitution guarantees impartiality between men and women as a fundamental right.

"Our Constitution calls for equal rights and duties of the genders, and we seek to elaborate, enforce and guarantee this constitutional right through the new law," he tweeted. "We do not want any exception when it comes to providing equal opportunities for both genders."

He said the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan had recognised the importance of establishing gender balance and its long-term positive social and economic effects.

Hailing the law, Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, noted that the UAE has achieved gender balance "in all fields". "The decision encourages women to devote themselves to work and make greater efforts to achieve the state's goals," she said.

The UAE government has been consolidating efforts to narrow the gender gap. In 2015, the UAE Council for Gender Balance was established to position UAE among the leading countries in the world in terms of gender balance. The UAE continues to champion the involvement of women in the development process through the issuance of the new law.

The Cabinet's approval of the law is in line with the government's objective to ensure the protection of women's rights and support their role in the national development process. It is part of the Strategy for the Empowerment of Emirati Women launched by Sheikha Fatima, who is also the President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation.

Empowering women in UAE

• 66% of public sector employees are women, with 30% in leadership roles
• 70% of school and university students are women
• 65% of total higher education graduates are women
• 8 women in the UAE Cabinet
• 8 women in the Federal National Council 2nd in the Arab world in World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2017
• The Federal National Council's speaker is a woman
• The second country in the world after Norway to impose women's representation on boards of directors of companies
• Gender Balance Guide for the workplace in the UAE is the world's first of its kind for workplaces
• The country aims to be among the top 25 nations worldwide excelling in the field of women's empowerment