Over the past three years, the United Arab Emirates has achieved a paradigm change in terms of narrowing the gap linked to wage inequalities between men and women working in the same industry or owning companies of equal value, according to the Emirates News Agency Wam.
Gender parity in compensation for equal work is a key component of a society’s dedication to human rights as well as its commitment to achieving a gender balance. The nation was rated 18th in the world and first in the region in the Gender Inequality Index (GII) in the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report 2020, according to the United Nations Development Programme.
On Saturday, September 18, the United Arab Emirates will join nations all around the globe in commemorating International Equal Pay Day (IEPD). Women’s Empowerment Day was designated by the United Nations (UN) as an annual occasion for intensifying efforts to empower women and girls and eliminate all barriers to attaining equality between them and men in the job market, according to Wam.
A number of legal changes relating to women’s economic involvement that were implemented during the past three years have resulted in the United Arab Emirates being ranked number one in the MENA region in the World Bank’s 2021 “Women, Business and the Law” (WBL) report. The yearly report contains eight indicators that are organised around women’s contacts with the law as they begin, progress through, and finish their professional lives in the United States. Mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pension are some of the factors to consider.
The UAE received 82.5 points out of 100 points this year, compared to 56 points in the report’s 2020 edition and 29 points in the 2019 edition. In addition, the UAE received a perfect score (100 points) in all five categories included in the current report: movement, workplace, wages, entrepreneurship, and pensions, among others.
In the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report for 2021, the United Arab Emirates was rated #1 in the Arab world overall. The UAE also placed first in the world in four of the report’s categories, including the proportion of women in parliament, the gender ratio at birth, the literacy rate, and the proportion of children enrolled in basic school.
According to the UAE Labor Law, “Female workers must receive remuneration equivalent to those received by male employees if they do the same job or another of similar value as male employees.”
The Decree of Federal Law No. 06 for 2020, which establishes equal pay for men and women in the private sector, went into effect in September 2020, and will remain in effect until further notice.
All limitations placed on women working at night or in difficult professions such as mining, construction, manufacturing, energy, agriculture, and transportation would be abolished under the UAE Labor Law, allowing them to pursue careers in these fields. Because of her pregnancy, an employer is not permitted to terminate or warn a working woman’s employment or to refuse her services.
Discrimination between workers in terms of access to employment and advancement, as well as gender discrimination in occupations with the same job responsibilities, is prohibited by federal and state legislation.
Emirati women have maintained a strong presence in a variety of business sectors; for example, females account for 64 percent of workers in the education sector, the same percentage of total doctors, nurses, and technicians in the health sector, and 31 percent of total workers in the finance, banking, and insurance industries. Emirati women have maintained a strong presence in a variety of business sectors.
Women own 80,025 licenced businesses, accounting for 21.5 percent of management positions and 32.5 percent of employees in specialised professions, according to the National Association of Women Business Owners.
According to the United Nations, the General Assembly called for immediate action to achieve the objective of equal pay for equal labour for everyone. In addition, it urged all parties involved to embrace the objective of equal pay for equivalent-value labour in the years ahead.