Mouza Al Suwaidi named Secretary-General of UAE Gender Balance Council

Mouza Al Suwaidi has been named Secretary-General of the UAE Gender Balance Council.

The announcement was made on Monday as Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, chaired the UAE Cabinet meeting.

With more than 20 years of experience in the UAE public and private sectors, Mouza Al Suwaidi is set to add more value to the Council and help build on its achievements.

Her appointment underscores the UAE’s commitment to supporting Emirati women and strengthening their roles as leaders and decision-makers, highlighted Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed, president of the UAE Gender Balance Council.

“The council’s new structure will bring together talented Emiratis from diverse fields to drive gender balance efforts, boosting the UAE’s position in international rankings,” said Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council.

Mouza Al Suwaidi has held prominent leadership roles, with the most recent being Head of Community Engagement at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from Wayne State University.

She expressed gratitude to the UAE leaders for entrusting her with the new role. “I am honoured by the trust placed in me and will dedicate myself to fulfilling the responsibilities it involves, guided by our leadership’s forward-looking vision and their inspirational direction.

“I look forward to working closely with the members of the Council and drawing on their vast expertise to drive continued progress in gender balance,” Ms Al Suwaidi said.

The UAE Gender Balance Council was created in 2015.

World failing girls, women

Despite global efforts, the world is falling short of achieving gender equality.

This year’s UN Gender Snapshot 2023 shows that the gender gap in power and leadership positions remains problematic with calls for an integrated and holistic approach and policy changes to address gender disparities worldwide.

It also underscores the urgent need for concrete efforts to accelerate progress towards gender equality by 2030 and revealed that an additional $360 billion per year is needed to achieve women’s empowerment across key global goals.

“This year’s report is a resounding call to action,” Sarah Hendriks, UN Women Deputy Executive Director ad interim, had emphasised. “We must collectively and intentionally act now to course-correct for a world where every woman and girl has equal rights, opportunities, and representation. To achieve this, we need unwavering commitment, innovative solutions, and collaboration across all sectors and stakeholders.”

In June, UN human rights chief Volker Turk highlighted that the world is “failing to deliver on the promise of gender equality” at the 56th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“The world is failing to deliver on the promise of gender equality,” Mr Turk said. “Failing to put in place the measures needed to ensure half of humanity enjoy their fundamental rights and freedoms.”

“Gender equality needs to be positively fostered through laws governing all areas of life – economic, public and political. And we need policy measures to ensure that these laws are applied,” Mr Turk added.

The UAE committed an additional $15 million to UN Women in 2023 over the course of three years to promote gender equality, empower women and girls worldwide and advance their participation in conflict prevention and peace-building.