1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,080 Today we celebrate the global collaborations that have contributed to 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:10,339 the advancement of gender balance in the UAE and the broader region. Working in 3 00:00:10,339 --> 00:00:17,359 partnerships with organizations like the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, the 4 00:00:17,359 --> 00:00:25,160 UN, specifically the UNDP, OECD and IMF, the UAE has built a unique gender 5 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:31,560 balance model, leveraging global expertise to create a world of even 6 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:37,960 greater possibilities and to unleash the full potential of every person 7 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:44,120 regardless of gender. Gender balance here in the UAE is not just a moral 8 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:50,519 obligation, it is a critical component of economic growth and the key to 9 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:57,280 creating a thriving and sustainable society and because of our great 10 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:05,659 leadership vision a significant change has been made in the UAE where gender 11 00:01:05,659 --> 00:01:14,600 balance is reflected in every aspect of society. Why do we need 12 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,000 to engage with the international organizations? Why do we need to have 13 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:22,000 collaboration? I'm sure that each one of us in this room receives such a 14 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:29,879 question and basically my answer I always say we aim to share knowledge, 15 00:01:29,879 --> 00:01:37,039 co-design solutions and of course we seek inspiration from one another to 16 00:01:37,039 --> 00:01:43,700 establish regional benchmarks and by doing so we hope to develop a good 17 00:01:43,700 --> 00:01:50,540 working model here in the region that could be adapted. Another aspect of why 18 00:01:50,540 --> 00:01:55,740 we're doing or we need such collaborations is that we have used 19 00:01:55,740 --> 00:02:01,180 insights and recommendations from those international organizations to set 20 00:02:01,180 --> 00:02:06,579 benchmarks and policies to promote gender equality and when I say that I'm 21 00:02:06,579 --> 00:02:12,980 referring to reports. When the UAE gender balance council was established in 2015 22 00:02:12,979 --> 00:02:17,500 His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and the 23 00:02:17,500 --> 00:02:22,459 Prime Minister of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai set a clear KPI for the UAE 24 00:02:22,459 --> 00:02:28,819 gender balance council and that was to be among the top 25 countries in the UNDP 25 00:02:28,819 --> 00:02:37,299 gender inequality report index. Back then we were ranked 49th and today 26 00:02:37,299 --> 00:02:42,899 the UAE ranks 11th globally and first regionally on that index. What I want to 27 00:02:42,900 --> 00:02:50,580 say that those actually reports help us to evaluate our systems and to improve 28 00:02:50,580 --> 00:02:58,819 our systems and introduce new laws, new policies to advance gender 29 00:02:58,819 --> 00:03:05,900 inequality. However our ambitions go beyond global rankings and the UAE is 30 00:03:05,900 --> 00:03:11,460 committed to implementing policies to bring about real change and we will 31 00:03:11,460 --> 00:03:17,700 continue to introduce new policies and new legal reforms based on those 32 00:03:17,700 --> 00:03:24,900 international reports evaluation. Our first collaboration with OECD 33 00:03:24,900 --> 00:03:31,700 was actually to develop a gender balance guide and a toolkit for global 34 00:03:31,700 --> 00:03:38,819 advanced practices for gender balance and recently the UAE also gender balance 35 00:03:38,819 --> 00:03:43,139 council and the World Bank co-host the UAE gender balance center for excellence 36 00:03:43,139 --> 00:03:51,299 and knowledge exchange, a regional center to drive equitable growth. Most recently 37 00:03:51,299 --> 00:03:57,939 with the word economic forum the UAE has become a knowledge partner joining 38 00:03:57,939 --> 00:04:03,539 countries that drive gender balance priorities from the highest levels of 39 00:04:03,539 --> 00:04:09,379 leadership. Our government and private sector partners will now be able to share 40 00:04:09,379 --> 00:04:16,740 their expertise on such a global stage. Our collaborations have enabled us to 41 00:04:16,740 --> 00:04:22,259 develop a functional framework for promoting gender equality in the region 42 00:04:22,259 --> 00:04:28,420 but our journey does not end here. We acknowledge that there are still many 43 00:04:28,500 --> 00:04:35,860 challenges ahead of us but there are also great opportunities that we believe we can 44 00:04:36,580 --> 00:04:45,780 jump on and promote our best practices and our stories and at the same time learn and... 45 00:04:46,340 --> 00:04:52,340 capabilities and capacities from those engagements. Thank you very much and I hope 46 00:04:52,339 --> 00:04:58,259 this session will reflect how important it is to have such an engagement with the 47 00:04:58,259 --> 00:05:05,379 international organization and being globally connected with the world this is one of the 48 00:05:05,379 --> 00:05:07,779 reasons why we're here today. Thank you very much. 49 00:05:12,579 --> 00:05:19,459 Gender balance continues to be a critical issue in our world today and it is essenti... 50 00:05:19,459 --> 00:05:25,219 together and to address it. Can you talk about some of the specific examples with... 51 00:05:25,219 --> 00:05:31,699 governments in the region taken to advance and strengthen gender balance across the... 52 00:05:31,699 --> 00:05:38,339 and society and also including some examples from the UAE. Thank you very much for the... 53 00:05:38,339 --> 00:05:45,299 it's great to be with you again this is not my first time in this kind of forum and I... 54 00:05:45,300 --> 00:05:51,060 that I'd like to start first by saying how impressed I am you know every time I visit 55 00:05:52,180 --> 00:05:58,500 the region but in particular here in the UAE you know progress is absolutely absolutely... 56 00:05:59,060 --> 00:06:05,300 and that's a matter of satisfaction for all of us because we have been engaged in this... 57 00:06:05,300 --> 00:06:12,259 for quite some time and it is encouraging to see that sometimes development and progres... 58 00:06:12,259 --> 00:06:17,620 fast you know we generally say you know when I talk about development we say generally ... 59 00:06:17,620 --> 00:06:22,579 it's not instant coffee it takes time it takes breath true but sometimes when you h... 60 00:06:22,579 --> 00:06:29,139 policy and the right political leadership well things move fast and I believe that... 61 00:06:29,139 --> 00:06:34,819 of history is absolutely fundamental here and we see it. On gender I would say two thing... 62 00:06:34,819 --> 00:06:41,139 there is the ethical discussion about it there is a clear need to make sure that yo... 63 00:06:41,139 --> 00:06:46,579 place ourselves at a certain level of ethics when we talk about gender equality we are... 64 00:06:46,579 --> 00:06:51,379 all in the same society we are breathing the same air and we are frankly looking in the... 65 00:06:51,379 --> 00:06:58,099 direction so there is no way one can you know feel that there is a social stability or y... 66 00:06:58,099 --> 00:07:04,740 social balance if you do not have gender equality equality and fairness both of the... 67 00:07:04,740 --> 00:07:09,459 hand in hand and then of course you have the economics of it you know how can you have a 68 00:07:09,459 --> 00:07:19,060 country you know prosper grow if only 50 percent of its workforce you know is put t... 69 00:07:19,060 --> 00:07:26,019 workforce meaning in terms of you know muscles but also very much brains and idea... 70 00:07:26,019 --> 00:07:33,379 so all of this is absolutely fundamental you know examples abound around the region and... 71 00:07:34,019 --> 00:07:38,899 you know so I you know better than I am not going to go into much detail but one thing... 72 00:07:38,899 --> 00:07:48,259 like to say and I remember I said I said it last time this drive needs to be sustained... 73 00:07:48,259 --> 00:07:56,500 day because unfortunately there are some reforms that suffer from you know muscle... 74 00:07:56,500 --> 00:08:01,139 you move your move and then as soon as you kind of deal with something else it goes b... 75 00:08:01,139 --> 00:08:07,219 it was and I saw it in a number of countries where you know dynamics have made it so that 76 00:08:08,180 --> 00:08:14,660 huge progress that was made over 10 15 20 years have been reversed and reversed or... 77 00:08:14,660 --> 00:08:21,300 to be reversed why because at some point we lost sight of them we thought you know tha... 78 00:08:21,300 --> 00:08:27,620 know don't do it's there we don't need to deal with it anymore you know it's somethi... 79 00:08:27,620 --> 00:08:34,820 part of what is our new culture it's not true we need to nurture this every single day a... 80 00:08:34,900 --> 00:08:42,820 why having you know the the council having this as a center of excellence and having... 81 00:08:42,820 --> 00:08:48,820 political push from the highest authorities in the country is is absolutely fundamenta... 82 00:08:48,820 --> 00:08:55,940 of course to be with you every step of the way but at the end of the day no one can... 83 00:08:56,020 --> 00:09:01,940 breadth the depth and and the commitment of all of you as as we move forward so 84 00:09:03,540 --> 00:09:09,860 my my on this one my last point is you have done a lot you have gone a long way 85 00:09:10,660 --> 00:09:17,780 keep going and count on us to be with you and please don't take your eye off the ball... 86 00:09:17,780 --> 00:09:22,420 otherwise you know we we may lose sight of the progress and we may actually find... 87 00:09:23,299 --> 00:09:26,899 going backwards please keep doing it keep pushing and we are with you 88 00:09:28,339 --> 00:09:38,500 thank you for this incredible answer it's really insightful you know to leadership i... 89 00:09:38,500 --> 00:09:42,899 when it comes to gender balance and sustaining it it's really important it's a... 90 00:09:43,860 --> 00:09:48,419 you know consistent when it comes to those policies and interventions by governments 91 00:09:48,419 --> 00:09:54,179 and working closely with international organizations Sadia I turn to you let's talk 92 00:09:54,179 --> 00:09:58,819 about more about future preparedness for a number of years the international... 93 00:09:58,819 --> 00:10:03,939 including the world economic forum and a group of countries emphasize on the need t... 94 00:10:03,939 --> 00:10:10,740 women for the broader and the broader population for jobs for the future the... 95 00:10:10,740 --> 00:10:14,980 conversation is future preparedness has been to ensure to get ahead of gender gap 96 00:10:15,860 --> 00:10:22,659 in representation in pay innovation especially in priority sectors such as AI... 97 00:10:22,659 --> 00:10:28,899 transformation and so on can you share insights on how we progress in this area w... 98 00:10:28,899 --> 00:10:35,300 trends do you see around gender parity thank you very much and a pleasure to be here th... 99 00:10:35,300 --> 00:10:43,700 much for for having me here look I'm thinking back to this morning and his excellency... 100 00:10:43,700 --> 00:10:51,220 Gargawi and the conversation between him and professor Klaus Schwab of the world econom... 101 00:10:51,220 --> 00:10:56,020 so much of that conversation was about how we build that future and how we prepare for t... 102 00:10:56,020 --> 00:11:02,100 industrial revolution and that is very much about talent that is about brain power tha... 103 00:11:02,100 --> 00:11:08,259 innovation that's about creativity and the only way to get to those things is if we d... 104 00:11:08,340 --> 00:11:16,580 the talent in the room for every single decision if we deploy the full human... 105 00:11:16,580 --> 00:11:23,139 in any nation and what does that look like if we start getting into some of the highest... 106 00:11:23,139 --> 00:11:30,100 sectors of the future whether that's artificial intelligence whether that is... 107 00:11:30,899 --> 00:11:38,659 whether that is blockchain related applications quantum computing these are a... 108 00:11:38,659 --> 00:11:46,659 need to develop much more stem related talent and that is exactly where there tends to b... 109 00:11:46,659 --> 00:11:55,700 point a gap if we don't keep our eye on the prize a little bit of global statistics he... 110 00:11:55,780 --> 00:12:05,620 18 percent of women in tertiary education are pursuing stem related studies compared to 35 111 00:12:05,620 --> 00:12:11,780 when it comes to men so naturally to begin with there is an imbalance when it comes t... 112 00:12:11,780 --> 00:12:18,340 pipeline when it comes to reskilling and upskilling in the adult workforce so those... 113 00:12:18,340 --> 00:12:24,420 part of the workforce when it comes to reskilling and upskilling in stem related... 114 00:12:24,419 --> 00:12:32,659 engineering manufacturing construction that is where women again tend to be... 115 00:12:32,659 --> 00:12:40,899 even when it comes to online reskilling and upskilling women currently make up in ict... 116 00:12:40,899 --> 00:12:49,139 than one third of the workforce and when it comes to leadership and technology again... 117 00:12:49,139 --> 00:12:54,259 lower average compared to leadership roles elsewhere so 31 percent of leadership roles 118 00:12:54,259 --> 00:13:00,419 across all sectors and 24 percent when it comes to women's leadership in some of the... 119 00:13:00,419 --> 00:13:05,699 now what's very promising in this region is how different it looks here and especially... 120 00:13:05,699 --> 00:13:14,899 UAE 61 percent of stem graduates are women so you have not just the human capital but al... 121 00:13:14,899 --> 00:13:20,980 potential to make this very different for the future and that essentially means that the... 122 00:13:20,980 --> 00:13:26,340 that technology will be designed will take a much broader context into account nobody h... 123 00:13:26,340 --> 00:13:31,699 conclusive study that says that women are necessarily going to make very different... 124 00:13:31,699 --> 00:13:38,899 but they will make choices that are informed by a much different context than what men ... 125 00:13:38,899 --> 00:13:44,179 to be informed by and that can only be a good thing it means the development of these... 126 00:13:44,179 --> 00:13:49,699 will be more creative more diverse more dynamic more innovative and serve more wid... 127 00:13:49,699 --> 00:13:55,059 of society so i'll turn it back over to you but thank you for the opportunity to share... 128 00:13:55,059 --> 00:14:00,179 bit more about the global stats but also the opportunity that specifically exists here ... 129 00:14:00,179 --> 00:14:06,899 region thank you Sadia Mr. Shu we had a an interesting discussion yesterday with you and 130 00:14:06,899 --> 00:14:13,459 you mentioned that you work in diversity of countries around the world from us Iran... 131 00:14:13,460 --> 00:14:19,620 african region Pakistan and Kazakhstan my question to you from yours from your... 132 00:14:19,620 --> 00:14:25,379 some of the biggest challenges and opportunities around closing gender gap in... 133 00:14:25,379 --> 00:14:32,180 the world thank you very much really appreciated the opportunity to be here lik... 134 00:14:32,180 --> 00:14:40,420 sure we're all impressed by the transformation we've seen taking place her... 135 00:14:40,500 --> 00:14:47,059 we see is really an example as the excellency miss Marie mentioned earlier 136 00:14:51,379 --> 00:14:56,019 so i think what we see today is really an example of you know 137 00:14:58,259 --> 00:15:05,139 equal opportunities for men and women pursuing their aspirations and as 138 00:15:06,019 --> 00:15:14,100 miss Zahedi mentioned 60 plus percent of women graduate with incredible skills with... 139 00:15:14,100 --> 00:15:20,899 and technology so but this is not happening everywhere that is a challenge right because 140 00:15:21,460 --> 00:15:26,819 when it comes to gender issues you have a lot of challenges inequalities in terms of... 141 00:15:26,819 --> 00:15:33,460 violence that is growing more and more serious in fact despite our efforts and th... 142 00:15:33,460 --> 00:15:44,500 to kovid and and you know women's participation economic activities is lower... 143 00:15:44,500 --> 00:15:50,740 also partly because of kovid restrictions so that creates problems you know that reflects 144 00:15:51,300 --> 00:15:59,060 the kind of power balance you know that we see in society and what what does this mea... 145 00:15:59,619 --> 00:16:06,099 in some societies we don't have a consensus societal consensus where men and women should 146 00:16:06,099 --> 00:16:11,539 have equal opportunities that actually is good for society we have this challenge 147 00:16:12,579 --> 00:16:19,139 and we also have missed the economic opportunities and there are a lot of data... 148 00:16:19,139 --> 00:16:25,299 by different countries and including what the economic forum i think in 2007 what economic 149 00:16:25,299 --> 00:16:33,459 forum did a study that said that a 25 increase in labor in women's labor... 150 00:16:34,819 --> 00:16:42,819 would unleash 5.7 trillion dollars of global gdp by 2025 for example so we're missing... 151 00:16:42,819 --> 00:16:51,379 opportunities and also for i recently read a study that norway did about their you know 152 00:16:52,340 --> 00:17:01,539 increasing women's labor participation participation from 600 000 people in the... 153 00:17:02,179 --> 00:17:13,380 to 1.1 million women participation in economy by early 2020s that added 3.3 trillion... 154 00:17:13,380 --> 00:17:20,500 crowns to its gdp for now that is also because the part-time nature of the job no... 155 00:17:20,500 --> 00:17:28,500 woman let's work the full time they would have added additional 2.7 trillion norwegi... 156 00:17:28,500 --> 00:17:34,980 so these are potentiaries so yes you know we understand the challenges that you know... 157 00:17:34,980 --> 00:17:40,660 a division of labor in societies and so forth but if you flip this if you provide equal... 158 00:17:40,660 --> 00:17:47,140 let women choose what they would like to do you create enormous economic opportunities... 159 00:17:47,940 --> 00:17:54,660 care economy there's a highly it's highly undervalued because most care unpaid at home 160 00:17:55,620 --> 00:18:03,140 even paid they are very low right so in middle east for example women spend five... 161 00:18:03,140 --> 00:18:09,940 of the time in care than men for example right so this contribution to society is not 162 00:18:10,740 --> 00:18:17,700 valued properly right so so if you really turn this around and look at gender equali... 163 00:18:17,700 --> 00:18:24,180 opportunity of societal and economic development you immediately create... 164 00:18:24,259 --> 00:18:30,740 and also the satisfaction right the fulfillment of purpose you know for for me... 165 00:18:30,740 --> 00:18:36,980 who can choose and you also create opportunities of political participation... 166 00:18:37,779 --> 00:18:42,820 and the power and so forth so i think this is what we're talking about it's not just the... 167 00:18:42,820 --> 00:18:49,539 it's economics society as well thank you uh mr shu for your perspective 168 00:18:49,619 --> 00:18:56,579 Thank you Mr. Shua for your perspective. Farid Bilhaj back to you when seeking to... 169 00:18:56,579 --> 00:19:01,779 challenges the UAE government prioritized partnership with international organization 170 00:19:01,779 --> 00:19:08,339 with the private sectors for the past five years we have seen incredible and... 171 00:19:08,339 --> 00:19:14,899 in closing gender gap in the UAE and the GCC region and this is partly because of... 172 00:19:15,460 --> 00:19:20,340 and this is partly because of government institutions with working with institution... 173 00:19:20,340 --> 00:19:27,860 as the World Bank to come up and to co-design reforms what have you learned from these 174 00:19:27,860 --> 00:19:34,420 partnerships what role does collaboration play in tackling other priorities let's sa... 175 00:19:34,420 --> 00:19:43,460 future skills energy transition women overall labor participation what what we've learne... 176 00:19:43,460 --> 00:19:48,980 that we have to deepen that partnership what we've learned that we have to be in the fi... 177 00:19:48,980 --> 00:19:55,220 have our office here in in Abu Dhabi to make sure that we keep pushing that agenda we h... 178 00:19:55,220 --> 00:20:02,579 a number of instruments that help us uh not only quantify what we have but also help u... 179 00:20:02,579 --> 00:20:11,380 doors for instance we have a very important piece of analytical work based on on on da... 180 00:20:11,380 --> 00:20:19,700 the the part of women in the uh in the led in the business driving legislation you know... 181 00:20:19,700 --> 00:20:25,620 women business and the law very very important piece of analytical work that... 182 00:20:25,620 --> 00:20:32,900 all a platform upon which we can make an assessment what is missing what we can do... 183 00:20:32,900 --> 00:20:38,420 with other places around the world how we can compare and what's happening here so I was... 184 00:20:38,420 --> 00:20:44,820 earlier that there was an acceleration of history we can say it confidently because ... 185 00:20:44,820 --> 00:20:51,300 happening in other parts of the world granted we know there is a trajectory we are we ar... 186 00:20:51,300 --> 00:20:57,779 starting from where other places are starting you know but when you see how fast things ... 187 00:20:57,779 --> 00:21:03,460 it is important so we need to have you know as you know as world bank or other... 188 00:21:03,539 --> 00:21:12,100 you know the UN agencies in general and and and others one nobody can do uh this alone... 189 00:21:12,100 --> 00:21:17,380 partnerships among ourselves you know the the quote-unquote donor community call it that... 190 00:21:17,380 --> 00:21:22,420 we're not we're not giving anything we are basically trying to engage second there is... 191 00:21:22,420 --> 00:21:28,740 partnership between the governments and and and and and us because we can bring about... 192 00:21:28,980 --> 00:21:38,339 you know comparators and third if I may put it this way we we you know but that it... 193 00:21:38,339 --> 00:21:46,500 with us would would would would help you you know open doors to you know emulating what... 194 00:21:46,500 --> 00:21:51,700 next door in a very friendly and and an open way you know we're not in a competition here 195 00:21:51,700 --> 00:21:57,700 we are trying to make sure that you know we are we are we are balancing what's happeni... 196 00:21:58,500 --> 00:22:04,980 and making sure that talented educated you know populations in in this part of the world 197 00:22:05,539 --> 00:22:11,779 very much women you know are given their proper chance when I look at you know earl... 198 00:22:11,779 --> 00:22:17,779 were talking about you know the level of education of women I see it today a number... 199 00:22:17,779 --> 00:22:24,100 is men from Morocco all the way to Iran this is the the span of of what we call the Mid... 200 00:22:24,099 --> 00:22:31,139 and North Africa region the level of education for women you know surpasses the... 201 00:22:31,139 --> 00:22:36,659 for men but then when the problem becomes a problem and you know it it's when you... 202 00:22:36,659 --> 00:22:41,699 that into the job market and the participation in the job market now there ... 203 00:22:41,699 --> 00:22:46,740 things are really not moving forward you know take Jordan for instance we are still... 204 00:22:46,740 --> 00:22:53,459 with 13 14 percent of of of women active in the job market but then there are places... 205 00:22:53,460 --> 00:23:00,180 have skyrocketed take Saudi Arabia who moved from 16 percent I believe to now 37 percen... 206 00:23:00,180 --> 00:23:05,779 and going you know same thing in the in the UAE and other places around the around the... 207 00:23:05,779 --> 00:23:11,700 countries so it's important that we keep the progress going we see it we evaluate we... 208 00:23:12,420 --> 00:23:18,579 and we make sure that you know we as international organizations because maybe ... 209 00:23:18,579 --> 00:23:27,220 distance you know we can come and and and say it in a friendly way like it is and and an... 210 00:23:27,220 --> 00:23:34,339 you know move move move forward last point I'd like to make and this is internal to t... 211 00:23:34,339 --> 00:23:43,460 a way you know one of my major efforts is to try to peel off this image of you know wom... 212 00:23:43,460 --> 00:23:48,819 Middle East and North Africa region not being given a proper chance or not being able to... 213 00:23:48,819 --> 00:23:55,620 the chance you know trying to I don't like the affirmative action concept but what I... 214 00:23:55,620 --> 00:24:01,620 affirmation concept you know try to make sure that you know in everything we do in every... 215 00:24:01,620 --> 00:24:10,100 we we we envisage we have that gender dimension into it inscribed you know in in... 216 00:24:10,099 --> 00:24:14,980 in a way make sure that you know all of my colleagues understand that you know yes we... 217 00:24:14,980 --> 00:24:20,819 dealing with climate yes we are dealing with poverty etc gender the big g is very very... 218 00:24:20,819 --> 00:24:26,740 at the center of what we are we are we are we are doing I was saying earlier count on us... 219 00:24:26,740 --> 00:24:33,299 only in talk not only in you know analytics but also very much when it comes to our... 220 00:24:33,299 --> 00:24:39,459 it is part and parcel of our effort to move this agenda forward and we count on you... 221 00:24:39,460 --> 00:24:43,940 are giving the great example I was saying earlier that you know we are all proud of... 222 00:24:43,940 --> 00:24:51,460 here proud as you know citizens of the of the of the of the Arab region and proud becaus... 223 00:24:51,460 --> 00:25:00,500 we see happening you know with you and helping us you know as a bank to make the... 224 00:25:00,500 --> 00:25:06,420 moving forward and this is really going in the right direction and there are great... 225 00:25:06,420 --> 00:25:14,420 know you cannot imagine how much you know of a of a difference it makes when I or my... 226 00:25:15,060 --> 00:25:20,340 go to other parts of the MENA region and say these are examples look what's happening... 227 00:25:20,340 --> 00:25:27,620 next door it is incredible so please keep doing it for yourselves and for you know a... 228 00:25:27,620 --> 00:25:35,380 women around this fantastic region thank you Farid and truly you know those countries... 229 00:25:35,380 --> 00:25:40,420 international organization create this ripple effect you know that not just only one... 230 00:25:40,420 --> 00:25:44,820 rising is the whole region and surrounding actually be inspired by the action of that... 231 00:25:45,700 --> 00:25:52,580 Sadia back to you an important element of the world economic forum work is to compel the... 232 00:25:52,580 --> 00:25:59,300 leadership to prioritize gender parity goals within their broader commitment can you speak 233 00:26:00,099 --> 00:26:06,099 about some of those policy and programmatic efforts that has reduced gender gap in the 234 00:26:06,099 --> 00:26:10,659 regional and global labor force if you can give us some of the strategies that actual... 235 00:26:10,659 --> 00:26:15,059 and some of the strategy that didn't work thank you very much thank you for the... 236 00:26:16,019 --> 00:26:21,059 one of the things that we believe is critical is actually tracking the gender gap over time 237 00:26:21,059 --> 00:26:28,180 and since 2006 we have continued to provide a global gender gap index trying to cover as 238 00:26:28,180 --> 00:26:33,860 many countries as possible looking at health education economic and political... 239 00:26:33,860 --> 00:26:40,100 dimensions and while the index is important more importantly it is the set of information 240 00:26:40,100 --> 00:26:46,019 around each country contextualized to what is happening within that country that's what... 241 00:26:46,019 --> 00:26:50,660 been trying to take forward a second element that we've been trying to take forward is 242 00:26:51,299 --> 00:26:56,259 setting up networks between countries to learn from each other and i'll say more ab... 243 00:26:56,259 --> 00:27:02,420 a second what the data tells us at the moment it's very clear i think it would not be a... 244 00:27:02,420 --> 00:27:07,940 to anyone that over the course of the last three years with the pandemic and the... 245 00:27:07,940 --> 00:27:13,859 it's created there have been setbacks in women's labor force participation this is... 246 00:27:14,579 --> 00:27:20,259 there are a few places where things have been okay or are starting to bounce back but in... 247 00:27:20,259 --> 00:27:25,940 parts of the world there has been a setback and a very large reason for that setback h... 248 00:27:25,940 --> 00:27:35,059 lack of a care infrastructure to your point the care economy if done well not only... 249 00:27:35,059 --> 00:27:40,900 greater balance for everybody but is actually a huge job creator on its own and in... 250 00:27:41,860 --> 00:27:47,779 women who have tended to be very active in that sector whether unpaid or paid so ther... 251 00:27:47,779 --> 00:27:53,860 opportunity there as countries look to grow their way out of the crisis to focus much... 252 00:27:53,859 --> 00:28:00,419 strategically on the care economy a second element is what i already mentioned around... 253 00:28:00,419 --> 00:28:07,299 on the stem professions i think that is a big opportunity again for bouncing back and for 254 00:28:07,299 --> 00:28:14,579 leapfrogging forward rather than fixing only some of the issues of of the past and then a 255 00:28:14,579 --> 00:28:19,939 third element is of course around financial inclusion and of course many of the... 256 00:28:20,019 --> 00:28:26,180 represented here are focusing on that and it's much it's part of all of the experime... 257 00:28:26,180 --> 00:28:32,100 have been taken forward by some of the countries that we're working with on closi... 258 00:28:32,100 --> 00:28:38,820 gap i had asked my team before this panel to provide me with some examples of what has... 259 00:28:38,820 --> 00:28:44,820 changing in the UAE and the list is so long that i don't think that i will try to put... 260 00:28:44,819 --> 00:28:52,019 in just 10 years has been a remarkable amount of progress on that global gender gap index 261 00:28:52,019 --> 00:29:00,500 the UAE has gone up 33 places this doesn't just happen this is not inertia it is due ... 262 00:29:00,500 --> 00:29:04,899 it is due to those very specific policies it doesn't mean it's perfect it doesn't mean... 263 00:29:04,899 --> 00:29:10,259 isn't a way to go but there have been efforts and that's why i'm delighted about the... 264 00:29:11,140 --> 00:29:15,700 with the work that we're doing on closing the gender gap and with the gender balance... 265 00:29:16,660 --> 00:29:21,940 and with the center for excellence so that we can actually pull together what has been... 266 00:29:21,940 --> 00:29:27,140 particular in the last decade or so from this country but also from other parts of the... 267 00:29:27,140 --> 00:29:34,420 and start making that much more visible to the global public to do that we'll be pull... 268 00:29:34,420 --> 00:29:41,380 a parity consortium composed of ministers and ceos so again the public private angle 269 00:29:41,380 --> 00:29:46,820 from around the world not just from the countries that we're partnering with but a... 270 00:29:46,820 --> 00:29:53,620 so that this issue really continues to have a global stage through data through leadership 271 00:29:53,620 --> 00:29:58,100 and through making best practices much more visible thank you thank you sadia 272 00:29:58,659 --> 00:30:05,059 Mr. Xu what role do international organizations play in supporting countries... 273 00:30:05,059 --> 00:30:11,459 policy frameworks to address complex challenges including gender inequality in ... 274 00:30:12,259 --> 00:30:17,779 thank you very much there are really a lot we can do together but what I think time is... 275 00:30:17,779 --> 00:30:25,299 okay what I would focus on is the kind of concept or notion that we have coined to... 276 00:30:25,779 --> 00:30:30,980 equal economics we call it economics there are a lot of new terms this is equal... 277 00:30:31,859 --> 00:30:39,940 and we're going to work with 120 countries to provide the gender seal certification 278 00:30:41,139 --> 00:30:47,700 work with the mutual finance and the tax authorities to incorporate gender... 279 00:30:47,700 --> 00:30:54,659 in public policies and in private practices so what does it mean is that you know for... 280 00:30:54,660 --> 00:31:01,700 for women's participation active participation and contribution to society ... 281 00:31:01,700 --> 00:31:08,259 increase you do need to look at the supply side as the university graduates for example 282 00:31:08,259 --> 00:31:15,460 the future oriented skills you need to look at the demand side as we also talked about... 283 00:31:15,460 --> 00:31:21,140 unleash the demand by taking certain policies we also need the institutions to work that... 284 00:31:21,140 --> 00:31:28,980 public and private so we have developed a gender seal standards for public institutions 285 00:31:29,780 --> 00:31:35,940 through five areas of standards 20 standards specifically within the five areas and we've 286 00:31:35,940 --> 00:31:42,740 developed also private sector gender seals for companies for enterprises in eight areas 287 00:31:42,740 --> 00:31:49,780 through a 10-step process so this could be online you know a platform learning process 288 00:31:49,779 --> 00:31:56,980 and the improvement process of not just one off exercise it is a process of one or two... 289 00:31:58,099 --> 00:32:05,940 by following these standards then we can reasonably be assured that the policies an... 290 00:32:05,940 --> 00:32:11,859 the measures you take will support the gender equality goals i'll give you just a couple of 291 00:32:11,859 --> 00:32:19,139 examples very quickly in north macedonia for example this gender seal process has resulted 292 00:32:19,140 --> 00:32:27,140 in government to invest in care economy right for just very shortly okay right and in fo... 293 00:32:27,140 --> 00:32:34,420 in luanda right with the work with central bank to you know go through this process they 294 00:32:34,420 --> 00:32:42,100 increase the women's access to services from 60 to 75 percent because of dedicated effo... 295 00:32:42,100 --> 00:32:47,940 gender segregated data for example right just one example from the private sector company 296 00:32:48,660 --> 00:32:54,420 we have worked now with more than one thousand companies in the last few years a... 297 00:32:54,420 --> 00:33:02,100 for example it's there's a company called benismo works on financing issues now they... 298 00:33:02,100 --> 00:33:10,980 50 million dollar gender equity bond to support women headed micro and sms and i... 299 00:33:10,980 --> 00:33:17,860 really interesting example in turkey okay there's a company called the grantee bb va... 300 00:33:17,859 --> 00:33:27,379 putting forward a gender based loan whose interest rate is tied to how company is... 301 00:33:27,379 --> 00:33:32,339 the gender equality standards for example so there are a lot of things we can do together 302 00:33:32,339 --> 00:33:46,899 these are some practical examples thank you so much