Sheikh-Up In UAE: At Function To Celebrate Gender Diversity, ‘Winners’ Are Men; Twitter Calls Out The Farce

The UAE authorities faced flak from Twitterati when all winners of an initiative meant to ensure gender equality at the workplace were men, reports The New Indian Express.

The certificates for ‘best government entity supporting gender balance’, ‘best federal authority supporting gender balance’ and ‘best gender balance initiative’ were awarded at an event on 27 January by Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, UAE vice-president and ruler of Dubai.

The awards that went to the Finance Ministry, the National Competitiveness and Statistics Authority and Ministry of Human Resources respectively were all represented by male awardees.

Moreover, the Deputy PM and Minister of Interior, Lt Gen Sheikh Saif bin Zayed al-Nahyan, was recognised as the “best personality supporting gender balance” for creating maternity leave in the UAE’s military.

A tweet sent out by the UAE administration celebrating the awards was ridiculed with a variety of reactions.