General Women’s Union, Aurora50 to advance female representation on UAE boards
DUBAI, 1st February, 2022 – General Women’s Union (GWU) and Aurora50, a UAE-based social enterprise dedicated to building the pipeline of female leaders needed for the future boards, have signed cooperation agreement to advance female representation on UAE boards.
The signing ceremony was attended by Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Co-Founder of Aurora50, and Noura Al Suwaidi, Secretary-General of the General Women’s Union.
In her remarks on the MoU signing, Sheikha Shamma said, “We are delighted to have signed this collaborative agreement with GWU.
It is an important step in accelerating diversity in UAE boardrooms and supports gender equality commitments under the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 by integrating gender perspectives at the board level in leading public and private companies.
The agreement will aid in identifying and developing competent female leaders needed for high-performing gender-balanced boardrooms by working with leading organisations in the UAE through various initiatives, she added.
Al Suwaidi, in turn, affirmed that this cooperation will significantly contribute to exchanging experiences in all possible means to support initiatives, programmes and cooperation frameworks that are proposed and agreed upon to achieve the desired goals.
Both parties realised the importance of concerted efforts towards social responsibility to empower Emirati women and strengthen the bonds of partnership and cooperation in the field of consolidating a culture of community participation in the country.
The MoU will seek to promote female representation in boards of director positions in public and private sectors, consistent with international best practices.
It will enable both parties to exchange knowledge and expertise and boost the professional development of women in C-suite positions to encourage more women to take up decision-making positions at the board level.
It will also see shared seminars, conferences, workshops in the field, and mutual participation in relevant activities.