It is my great pleasure to start my speech by expressing my heartfelt congratulations to every Emirati mother, sister, and daughter on Emirati Women’s Day, a dear occasion for all of us. The country’s wise leadership has set an example in supporting and empowering women on the local, regional, and international levels. Undoubtedly, the greatest credit has to be associated to Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union; President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood; and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, for supporting and empowering women and families and creating opportunities for Emirati women to contribute to the country’s inclusive development in various fields.    

Over its past two decades, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) has become aware of the significant role women are playing in all fields and in supporting their homeland, their families, and the Emirati society. Perhaps we can shed light here on some of SCA’s initiatives targeting Emirati women. SCA has been keen to encourage women to play a greater role on the boards of listed companies, whether by increasing their participation on these boards or by assuming senior management positions.  

SCA’s efforts in this respect are evident. It amended Decision No. (7/Chairman) of 2016 on Institutional Discipline Standards and Governance of Public Joint Stock Companies, which provides that female representation on corporate boards should not fall below 20 percent and that the reasons for not meeting this percentage should be disclosed. The same decision obliges the nomination and remuneration committee within listed companies to offer advantages and training and motivational programs to encourage the nomination of women for corporate boards.     

Undoubtedly, believing in the importance of the role females play, SCA will continue to urge companies to nominate women for their corporate boards as a general policy in line with the best international practices.  

It is worth noting here that SCA entered into an MoU with the UAE Gender Balance Council in 2017 to foster cooperation and intensify efforts to ensure gender balance by working towards increasing the participation of women on the boards of joint stock companies in line with the country’s national indicators.  

SCA also signed another MoU last week with Aurora50 to promote collaboration and enhance gender balance across corporate boards and to support the representation of women on these boards. The MoU was signed in the presence of Her Highness Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Co-Founder of Aurora50, and His Excellency Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Chairman of SCA and Minister of Economy.  

Thanks to its relentless efforts, SCA won the 2017 Best Initiative for Supporting Gender Balance Award for its Women’s Representation on Corporate Boards Initiative. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, honored SCA for winning this award, a move that reflects the wise government’s recognition of SCA’s efforts aimed at empowering women.  

SCA has spared no effort to provide all forms of support to women to join the securities field. It nominated one of its staff members for the Prime Minister’s Medal, part of the Sheikh Khalifa Government Excellence Program. The nominee won and was honored by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid in the awards ceremony.  

It is worth noting in this respect that SCA has been keen on the representation of women in leading, supervisory, and technical positions. According to recent statistics, the percentage of females holding executive positions was around 68.  

Finally, SCA has been striving to implement decisions and initiatives that ensure gender balance and to provide all possible forms of support to its Gender Balance Team. It will always be keen on taking its responsibilities seriously to enhance women’s status and support their role in the society and provide an enriching experience in women empowerment at the financial level, hoping that this experience will be a model to emulate.