In the first glance, it appeared a happy picture in the direction of gender balance, however netizens soon realized that the list of winners did not have any female name. Users on social media expressed surprise that no woman was considered worthy enough for an award in gender equaity.
The Index featured winners in three categories—the Best Personality for Supporting Gender Balance, Best Federal Entity for Supporting Gender Balance, and the Best Initiative for Supporting Gender Balance. However, users on social media expressed surprise that no woman was adjudged worthy of getting an award for gender equality.
In a statement the Dubai media office said: “The main aim of the Index is to support leaders and federal entities in establishing gender balance as a pillar on which their institutions are founded on. The Index is derived from the highest national and global benchmarks, including the UAE Cabinet’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) ‘Gender Inequality Index’. The Index comprises of three categories, and the recipients of the Index’s awards represent the collective gender balance efforts of the federal entities they represent.”
In the year 2017 in the Index’s first edition the winners included female Minister of State for International Cooperation and Chairwoman of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA), Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, who received the ‘UAE Gender Balance Seal’.
This year, surprisingly no women could make it to the list of winners.
The awards were given by the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.
The social media users were quick to point out the irony and soon the UAE authorities faced stern criticism on the platform.