Gender Balance Council
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Gender Balance Council (GBC) is an Emirati federal entity responsible for developing and implementing the gender balance agenda in the United Arab Emirates.[1][2]
The Council is chaired by Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment.[3] The Council's responsibility include reviewing current legislation, policies and programs, and proposing or updating new legislation or programs in order to achieve gender balance in the workplace reduce the gender gap across all government sectors, enhance the UAE's ranking in global competitiveness reports on gender equality and achieve gender balance in decision-making positions, as well as promote the UAE's status as a benchmark for gender balance legislation.[1][3]
In August 2016, the GBC announced the establishment of a committee to review the law and to activate the Gender Balance Index across various sectors.[4] In August 2016, The GBC announced it would review the country's maternity law, and some private sector firms have already enhanced their policies.[5]
In 2019, the organization awarded gender balance index awards – which celebrate efforts to reduce the gender gap within the federal government and to promote equal opportunities to genders. A tweet which celebrated the awards sparked derision on the social media sites as well as media outlets, with critics noting the awards being handed all to men. According to the Gender Balance Council, the awards were handed to the entities head, which happened to be men.[6][7][8][9]
