United Arab Emirates women occupy 40% of public sector posts, 70% of university students
Despite the fact the United Arab Emirates UAE woman could not join the parliamentary life to take part in the process of decision making through the new Federal National Council ( the parliament), however, the woman in the UAE is still preparing today to take part in the political work.
This inclination was based on what for many times had been repeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) First Lady Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, the chairperson of the Women's General Union, that there is nothing preventing women from taking part in the political life, noting that this is a right which was not forbidden by religion, nor prevented by the constitution.
Sheikha Fatima stressed that the UAE woman has proved her ability to shoulder assigned responsibility in assuming leading posts in several state ministries and establishments and has already moved to international gatherings in her participation in Arab and international conferences and in defending woman's rights.
The UAE ministries and establishments include several successful women in their careers as directors and bosses. The UAE woman is also expected to join shortly the Cabinet to introduce a new woman minister at the level of the Gulf Cooperation Council, after Sheikha al-Mahmoud in Qatar who is the first woman in the Gulf to win the title of "her excellency the minister," as well as Sheikha Aesha Bint Khalfan Bin Jamil al-Sayabi who was appointed by Sultan Qaboos bin Said as a chairperson for the general commission of artisans industry at a level of a minister.
In his speech for the first shift of female graduates at Zayed University in March 2003, the President of the United Arab Emirates, UAE Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan recommended the graduates to be careful to building a good family, to prepare the environment for bringing up their children as part of their contribution in the march of development and national work.
It has become evident that the UAE woman is attaining notable progress in the vocational field. She represents 40% of the total number of workers in the public sector posts. Moreover, female students constitute, in all UAE universities, more than 70% of the total number of registered students. Most of those female students graduated in the areas of Information Technology and Engineering. Female citizens also constitute 60% of the jobs and more than 17% of the teaching staff at UAE University.
As for UAE woman participation in the world of business, the UAE is considered one of the first countries in this key field, as the UAE women effectively run investment projects. Volume of investments run by women cadres is estimated at a sum of 12.5 billion UAE Dirhams.
According to latest official statistics, the number of women directors in the trade sector, just in Dubai Emirate, reached 3250 women in 2002, while women directors in Abu Dhabi and al-Ein reached 1325.