Shelina Janmohamed is an author and a culture columnist for The National
June 10, 2022
Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down from her role at Facebook to focus her energies on philanthropy and, notably, women’s advocacy. As one of the most senior and most powerful women in tech in the world, and through the reach of Facebook and Meta, she has undoubtedly impacted the lives of millions of women around the world in different ways. Meta estimated its monthly active users in December 2021 as 2.91 billion, and about 44 per cent of those (1.3 billion people) are female.
In 2013, she published Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, which went on to become a New York Times bestseller and has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. It was followed by the establishment of LeanIn.org, a foundation to encourage women to step up, following the principles of her book.
Indeed, the premise of this new wave of feminism, which was part of a driver of a bigger movement of corporate feminism and “women’s empowerment” was that women just needed to step up. Or, as the title suggested, to simply lean in. And that meant at the boardroom table or the dining table. Women could help make things happen by asserting themselves and inviting themselves into conversation. Want a pay rise? Ask! Want to be COO? Ask! Want to chat to the boss? Ask!
This follows, of course, a popular truism, albeit one that I personally subscribe to: “Don’t ask, don’t get." And in a world where women are often implicitly told to take up less space (particularly in places where decisions are made), and where women with opinions are often abused and insulted, there was undoubtedly a role for giving women a manifesto according to which they could recalibrate their expectations of themselves, and shift their own frame of reference of what they could and should be achieving.
The focus on empowerment has been a con played on women
But even then, one cannot shake the feeling that Lean In, in at least one big respect, missed the mark. Individuals have ownership over their own attitudes, actions and goals. But these do not come out of a vacuum, and nor are they asserted in one. To talk about individual responsibility without addressing the context in which it is exercised is at best strategically ineffective – it can only have a limited and short-term impact within the constraints of that individual woman’s context and privilege. This is something that Sandberg herself conceded later. When her husband passed away, she described how the fact she had money for childcare support and a supportive husband meant she had the time, energy, counsel and focus to be able to lean in. Something that many – perhaps most – women simply do not have. In this context, telling women to lean in is not empowering and does not create change. To truly empower women is to change the context and ensure a woman is enabled.
Which means that placing the responsibility on individual women – without addressing the structures in which they operate – is in fact more than just ineffective or short-termist in a strategic perspective. It can also be counterproductive. It leaves women disillusioned that the fault may lie with them when things do not change. And worse, it absolves corporations, policymakers, power-wielders and society in general from making any actual change. It is as important to change the system as it is for individuals to empower themselves.
For example, even when women do ask for promotions, they are less likely to be promoted. We know from gender pay gap analysis that despite asking for pay rises, women simply earn less. Prohibitive assumptions are held about women of childbearing age or of mothers that they make less reliable employees, or that they will be less committed. And if you simply can’t get into the boardroom, what point is any advice to lean in? If your name is “different” and you can’t even get a job interview, if you don’t have a degree even though you could do the job, if you have a disability and the workplace is not accessible and so many other systemic and structural issues, the advice to lean in is both useless and insulting. And then if women don’t succeed, it opens the doors to victim-blaming.
Business people in large modern meeting room. Getty Images
The focus on empowerment has been more recently described as “confidence culture” – or perhaps you could describe it as a confidence trick, a con played on women that all they need to do is “empower themselves”. And if they don’t, they are to blame.
We see similar trends in the dialogue around ethnic minorities: that they should stop being victims. On the other hand, in both situations some people say that it is simply the system that’s the problem.
Without recognising that both have a role to play. Yet, people seem to fall into one or other camp – either it’s all about the individual or it’s all the system. When in fact you can and must tackle both.
This requires us to look at ourselves as individuals, but also to look at the systems and society in which we undertake our own individual journeys, and all the factors that shape it.
It’s time to stop putting the onus on those who are already suffering inequality. It’s time to start changing the structures. Women who have made it despite the barriers are free to celebrate their own success. But what the rest of us need is a fundamental change to the system.
RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka Bantamweight
Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad Welterweight
Amir Boureslan bt Mahmoud Zanouny Featherweight
Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa Middleweight
Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
Founders:Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector:Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees:4
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score)
Porto (0) v Liverpool (2), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Real Madrid (2) v Bayern Munich (1)
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
When: 10.45pm, Tuesday
Watch Live: beIN Sports HD
