Empowering women empowers whole of society

Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, President of Zayed University, has said that empowering women empowers the whole of society, adding that the 21st century has seen tremendous achievements with regards to women's empowerment and gender equality.

Al Qasimi's remarks came during the 10th edition of the International Conference on Women Leaders in Science, Technology and Engineering, organised by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, KFAS, from October 24th to 26th.

The conference is being held under the patronage of Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, in collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS, and the US Department of State.

The event, titled 'Women’s Empowerment with Science', is hosting accomplished female role models who will share their success stories and strategies to inspire the next generation of women and maximise the potential of science, technology, engineering and mathematics,STEM, education.

During her speech, Al Qasimi said that literacy rate of Emirati women has hit over 95 percent compared to 31 percent in 1975. "Also, women outnumber men across different educational levels and account for more than 70 percent of higher education students," she added.

She went on to say that the UAE's wise leadership has progressively opened up opportunities for women, so today, after just one generation, the UAE takes pride in the fact that women occupy around 30 percent of all higher management positions and generally outnumber men in the government sector. Women lead around 50 percent of the UAE’s private sector SMEs and in business they manage investments valued at over US$4 billion, she affirmed.

Al Qasimi believes that empowerment and inclusion are keys to meeting the challenges of the 21st century and the UAE’s vision to transform its economy from being hydrocarbon driven to knowledge, innovation, research, and technology driven.

She cited a few examples of the Science, Technology, and Innovation Higher Policy, which was announced in 2015 by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to diversify the economy and create employment opportunities for UAE nationals.

She further said that women are central to the energy sector's future plans, namely in Masdar City, the AED50-billion Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park in Dubai and the Shams Solar project in Abu Dhabi.

"Women in STEM are also working at the Sir Bani Yas Wind Farm, as well as the emerging nuclear sector in the UAE. They contribute to the space science and technology sector with its combined investments of more than AED20 billion," Al Qasimi continued.

She referred to the L’Oréal-UNESCO Awards, an annual event held in association with Zayed University, to celebrate women's myriad accomplishments in the sciences, based on the premise that "the world needs science and science needs women because women in science have the power to change the world."