The UN Security Council, an emblem of global decision-making, for many years had a conspicuous absence of women.
But this year, five female ambassadors are successively helping to lead the world body's top institution: Lana Nusseibeh of the UAE, Barbara Woodward of the UK, Linda Thomas-Greenfield of the US, Switzerland’s Pascale Baeriswyl and Malta’s Vanessa Frazier.
"It represents a great opportunity to think about leadership”, Ms Baeriswyl told The National.
The first woman to serve as state secretary of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Ms Baeriswyl highlighted that the common thread binding all five diplomats is their “history of being pioneers”.
In October 2000, the Security Council adopted a resolution recognising the importance of women’s participation in conflict resolution and political decision-making – two of the issues the body deals with the most.
The council took well over a decade to fully enforce its own resolution and witness a notable transformation: six out of the 15 council members were women in 2014 – a stark contrast to 1993, when Madeleine Albright of the US was the sole female diplomat at the table.
Ms Albright's tenure in the early 1990s left an enduring impact on the realm of women in diplomacy.
Ms Thomas-Greenfield, who was nominated by President Joe Biden as ambassador to the UN in January 2021, regards Ms Albright as her “mentor”.
“When I was nominated for this role, she [Madeleine Albright] told me that during her tenure on the Security Council, she formed a group of women called the Group of Seven, or G7,” she said.
The late US secretary of state’s reference did not pertain to the Group of Seven, an alliance of affluent nations representing the world's most advanced economies, but to an informal group of UN women ambassadors.
“And so, when I got to New York and I found that there were only five women on the Security Council, I call Madeleine and lamented that we had lost ground,” Ms Thomas-Greenfield said.
“And she said, 'No, there were only seven women in the entire General Assembly!'
“We have made progress. But there’s still more to be made.”
Progress at the UN will hopefully also ripple outward, with Ms Woodward saying that effective leadership transcends gender barriers.
As she presides over the council this month, Ms Woodward told The National that “the issue we face [around the world] is the lack of women in leadership roles within government, business, the public sector and non-governmental organisations”.
During its two-year council term, including its presidency in June, the UAE has placed great importance on ensuring the representation of women's voices, particularly in matters of peace and security.
Ms Nusseibeh, the UAE's first female ambassador at the UN and co-chairwoman of the Informal Expert Group on Women, Peace and Security, said women have become more central to the discussion.
UAE's ambassador to the UN decries plight of Afghan women – video
With women historically comprising less than 10 per cent of the permanent representatives on the Security Council, Ms Nusseibeh stressed that “strides towards more inclusion have given council discussions greater weight and credibility”.
“As the council further integrates the perspectives of women and girls across its agenda, I think we will continue to see a paradigm shift in the way we understand drivers of conflict and the critical role that women and girls play as active agents of peace in conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding,” she said.
Ms Thomas-Greenfield pointed to the inclusion of issues on the agenda that amplify the representation of women on the council.
“We ensure that there are women speakers who come to brief the council,” she said. “It’s not that men don’t do it, but they don’t do it enough.
“As women, we’re aware of who's not in the room and constantly looking for opportunities to raise women up.”
The US diplomat believes that women have a heightened ability to empathise with the testimonies of those who endure conflict, sexual violence and famine.
“We feel the pain of those people,” she said. “And if you feel the pain, you feel the commitment, you feel the urgency of doing something about the pain, and that’s what I have done my entire career.”
Ms Frazier, the first woman to serve as Malta’s envoy to the UN, said all of the female permanent representatives currently serving on the council “are committed to providing a platform for civil society perspectives and women’s human rights defenders”.
She acknowledged that while a country's policy priorities drive decision-making on the council, individual backgrounds, personalities, styles, regional groups and gender can also shape dynamics.
In the last 77 years, a mere 26 female ambassadors have served on the Security Council. Ms Frazier said that a minimum representation of 30 per cent is required for a meaningful “gender perspective” to emerge.
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
AUSTRALIA SQUADS
ODI squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Twenty20 squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 290hp
Torque: 340Nm
Price: Dh155,800
On sale: now
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Education reform in Abu Dhabi
The emirate’s public education system has been in a constant state of change since the New School Model was launched in 2010 by the Abu Dhabi Education Council. The NSM, which is also known as the Abu Dhabi School Model, transformed the public school curriculum by introducing bilingual education starting with students from grades one to five. Under this new curriculum, the children spend half the day learning in Arabic and half in English – being taught maths, science and English language by mostly Western educated, native English speakers. The NSM curriculum also moved away from rote learning and required teachers to develop a “child-centered learning environment” that promoted critical thinking and independent learning. The NSM expanded by one grade each year and by the 2017-2018 academic year, it will have reached the high school level. Major reforms to the high school curriculum were announced in 2015. The two-stream curriculum, which allowed pupils to elect to follow a science or humanities course of study, was eliminated. In its place was a singular curriculum in which stem -- science, technology, engineering and maths – accounted for at least 50 per cent of all subjects. In 2016, Adec announced additional changes, including the introduction of two levels of maths and physics – advanced or general – to pupils in Grade 10, and a new core subject, career guidance, for grades 10 to 12; and a digital technology and innovation course for Grade 9. Next year, the focus will be on launching a new moral education subject to teach pupils from grades 1 to 9 character and morality, civic studies, cultural studies and the individual and the community.
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
Rocketman
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
The Farewell
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma
Four stars
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
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