Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) celebrated International Women’s Day 2017 under the theme “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50:50 by 2030.” Women enjoy a secure, stable environment, which allows them to grow their skills and abilities, and enhance their creativity and innovation.
During a meeting held with DEWA female employees today, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, praised the wise leadership, represented by HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for their efforts to empower women. The UAE tops global ranking in terms of treating women with respect and respecting reducing the gender gap. Emirati women are the cornerstone in the country’s comprehensive development. They occupy the highest positions in the sovereign, executive, and legislative authorities and represent the UAE at international events.
“His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, mentioned at last month’s World Government Summit that 70% of UAE women are university graduates, 70% are employed in the government, and one-third of the Council of Ministers members are women. His Highness noted that 50% of the Council members will be women in the near future. Today, we celebrate DEWA’s female staff in line with the directives of His Highness to officials to thank their female working teams by appreciating them and their contributions. We also value the female staff whose husbands have joined the national service to defend and protect the country, as they play the roles of both mothers and fathers,” said Al Tayer.
“On International Women’s Day, we remember the achievements of Emirati women and their role in the development of the UAE. The accomplishments of Emirati women are the result of the approach of the wise leadership, and is a continuation of women’s empowerment, which was started by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who was a strong supporter of all women, locally and federally. Now we are seeing more women than ever before working in local and federal positions. This includes space research, development based on creativity and innovation, renewable and clean energy, nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, manufacturing and launching satellites, aviation technologies, and other industries,” added Al Tayer.
“While we appreciate and acknowledge the effective role of women in building and developing society and serving the country and contributing to its development, we emphasise the key role that DEWA plays in empowering women in the workplace, so that they empower society as a whole. We are fully committed to supporting women, at the highest levels of excellence, and work to provide as much support as possible, to enable them to fulfil their roles as mothers to a new generation,” concluded Al Tayer.
“We extend our sincere thanks and gratitude to the wise leadership of the UAE, who spare no effort in providing the environment that empowers women and helps them to succeed. We also thank His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who praised women in the UAE as partners in the development process who raise generations, change agents, and drivers of development in society,” said Khawla Al Mehairi, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications and Chairperson of the Women’s Committee at DEWA.
“On International Women’s Day, we proudly remember and appreciate the efforts of the ‘Mother of the Nation,’ Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, Her Highness Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, Wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, President of Dubai Women’s Establishment, and wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. They have played a major part in empowering Emirati women and promoting their creativity,” added Al Mehairi.
“I also thank DEWA’s leadership, headed by His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA, for the unlimited support of the Women’s Committee since its inception,” concluded Al Mehairi.
“DEWA’s senior management prioritises the empowerment of female professionals and believes in their fundamental role is to foster national development. UAE’s female workforce currently hold senior positions in an encouraging environment supported by a solid legislative structure. We strive to provide an environment that enhances women’s participation in creativity and innovation. We are keen on enhancing the skills and capabilities of our female employees by providing them with all the necessary training programmes,” said Maryam Al Mutaiwei, Vice President of Human Resources at DEWA.
Fatima Deemas, Vice Chairperson of Women’s Committee at DEWA, also thanked Al Tayer for his continuous efforts to provide female staff with a positive and inspiring workplace, empowering them and enhancing their satisfaction, happiness and positivity.
“DEWA strives to support female professionals by implementing programmes and plans to develop their personal and professional skills. This ensures a positive and motivating working environment, which raises their sufficiency and productivity and achieves their happiness,” said Amal Koshak, Senior Manager of Marketing Communications at DEWA.
Fatima Al Joker, Assistant Legal Advisor, Chairperson of DEWA’s Youth Council, emphasised that DEWA seeks to ensure a better working environment for women, while empowering and supporting them to attain the highest positions.
Badria Belyouha, Deputy Senior Manager at the Water Operations department, enjoyed the kind words of Al Tayer to the female attendees. She praised the great role of the senior management, which has provided women with all support they need to achieve excellence and contribute to DEWA’s success.
Asmaa Al Shamsi, Senior Manager of the Transmission Civil Maintenance department, thanked the UAE’s leadership for their confidence and their support to women to enable them work and be creative in all their operations, especially technical and engineering.
Supported by DEWA’s senior management, DEWA Women’s Committee was established in 2010. It adopts a comprehensive approach that explores the different aspects that matter to women, creating plans and programmes that develop women’s personal and life skills. This has a positive effect, not only on DEWA, but also helps empower the community. DEWA is the largest government organisation to employ women in technical positions within the energy sector in Dubai.
DEWA currently employs 1,837 female staff in its operations, 486 work in engineering and other technical positions. 78% of DEWA’s female workforce are Emirati Nationals. DEWA provides female staff with a positive and inspiring workplace, enabling them to achieve a healthy balance between their professional and personal lives. This enables them to empower their communities and enhance social cohesion and sustainable development.
DEWA Women’s Committee adopts a strategy to focus on internal commitment to its working groups, to provide all the necessary efforts to develop women’s confidence and enable them through awareness programmes and activities that provide added value. This is shown by women empowering their communities in turn. These resulted in female employees at DEWA rating their happiness at 83.3% in the Happiness Index.
In August 2016, DEWA organised the second Emirati Women’s Forum to celebrate Emirati Women’s Day, as declared by HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and ‘Mother of the Nation,’ that the UAE celebrate 28 August as Emirati Women’s Day. Her Highness declared 2016 as the Year of Women and Innovation. It marked a milestone in the strategy to empower women, which was started by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
DEWA participated as the main partner in the Global Women’s Forum Dubai, organised by Dubai Women’s Establishment and the Women’s Forum for Economy & Society, which reflects DEWA’s commitment to enhancing the contribution of women to energy, as a major element of sustainable development. The forum was held for the first time in the Middle East and North Africa in February 2016, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and was led by HH Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, President of Dubai Women’s Establishment, and wife of HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, highlighting the UAE’s achievements and commitment to empowering women. DEWA Women’s Committee members participated in the forum under the theme ‘Let’s innovate’.
DEWA also participated, as part of the UAE delegation, in the 11th Women’s Forum in Deauville, France. Over 2,000 experts and professionals who are dedicated to supporting women’s issues from 70 countries attended the forum. Over the three days, DEWA’s delegation discussed a number of key topics related to promoting the Emirati women’s roles and enabling them to take part in shaping the future, and to contribute to economic and social development, and encourage them to become leaders, especially in clean energy.
DEWA provides all the necessary support to its female employees, and works to ensure to ensure a happy, stimulating, safe and stable working environment for them, which reflects positively on their professional and social lives. DEWA’s Women’s Committee develops the talents of our female staff, fosters their knowledge and skills, and provides an ideal platform for them to highlight their achievements and successes. DEWA supports its employees, and works to increase their participation in decision making, through different leadership and administrative positions across a number of technical fields.
The work done by DEWA’s Women’s Committee does not only comprise of organising internal activities, but also involves the exchange of skills and experiences with a number of local and international organisations that also work to empower women. The committee works to strengthen its relations with other female organisations, and organisations that support children and families, to achieve social development. DEWA’s Women’s Committee strives to enhance communication and cooperation with private organisations that specialise in social educational, and charitable work to enhance their contribution, and role in supporting the community, through the empowerment of women.
DEWA Women’s Committee also works to enhance the participation of Emirati women in sport, and supports Dubai’s efforts to promote sporting events for women. DEWA has organised a number of sporting events for its female staff in cooperation with other government organisations, who have achieved outstanding successes.
DEWA’s Women’s Committee organises several awareness and health activities, and lectures that cover topics such as good nutrition, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It also organises many projects and charitable exhibitions that involve its employees and non-profit organisations and programmes by the Ministry of Community Development. The Ministry’s sustainable social and economic programmes enable poor families to improve their living standards, and help members of the community improve society and protect the environment.