Dubai: Dubai Electricity Water Authority (DEWA) held the eighth Emirati Women’s Forum in celebration of Emirati Women’s Day 2022 that falls on August 28.
The event was attended by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA who lauded the work of leading Emirati women and women committees from several Dubai government entities. A number of DEWA officials were also present. The event was broadcast live on DEWA’s internal and external channels to help all female employees attend the forum as well as Women Committees at different organisations.
The eighth Emirati Women’s Day Forum included a video presentation of the Emirati women’s journey at DEWA and the UAE in general. The forum also featured a high-level panel discussion, with the participation of a group of leading Emirati female engineers in the UAE. The session was titled “Emirati Women: A Unique Model of Empowerment”, with the participation of Amani Al Hosani - UAE’s first female nuclear scientist, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation; and Hessa Ali - Control System Engineer for the Hope Probe, from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.
The forum presented an inspiring success story about DEWA’s pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai under the title: “Expo 2020 Dubai... an unforgettable experience", with the participation of a group of female employees from various divisions at DEWA whose hospitality made the visit of DEWA’s pavilion at the exhibition a useful and interesting experience. In addition, the forum included a panel discussion entitled “DEWA’s Support for Women... Sustainable Gains and Achievements” with the participation of a number of female engineers at DEWA.
Honouring successful Emirati women
Al Tayer honoured some successful Emirati women leaders who have made a mark for themselves. Amani Al Hosani; Hessa Ali; Hana Al Muhairi, Assistant Manager of Partnerships at the Museum of the Future, and a number of DEWA’s Emirati female employees who contributed to supporting DEWA’s global excellence and leadership were given a token of appreciation by Al Tayer.
“I am pleased to celebrate with you on the eighth Emirati Women’s Day, a momentous occasion to highlight the qualitative and honourable achievements made by the UAE in all fields and sectors, especially in women’s empowerment. It is also an annual milestone to showcase Emirati women’s success that is widely recognised in the UAE and international forums. This is in recognition of women’s active contribution in all fields of national work, and their qualitative achievements in promoting sustainable and comprehensive development.”
He added this comes as a result of the women’s empowerment journey by the late Founding Father of UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and supported by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; and 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 (Mother of the Nation). This has made the UAE and Dubai a successful model in women empowerment regionally and globally.”
Emirati Women’s Day 2022 themed “Inspiring Reality’
Al Tayer said: “Emirati Women’s Day is celebrated this year under the theme ‘Inspiring Reality.. Sustainable Future’. It represents the core of the role of our female employees that aims to ensure a brighter and more sustainable future for current and future generations. Every day they prove that nothing is impossible without innovation and hard work. This makes them role models in anticipating and shaping a sustainable future, and contribute effectively to DEWA’s mega projects, especially in clean and renewable energy. This consolidates DEWA’s position as an outstanding and leading utility worldwide and promotes Dubai’s position as a global hub for sustainable development and a green economy.”
Fatima Mohammed Al Joker, Legal Advisor at DEWA, who is also Chairperson of the Women’s Committee DEWA, said: “We are very happy today to have this forum as a unified and sustainable platform for all Emirati women achievements. At the forum we held several sessions in which we highlighted and showcased the success of Emirati woman in different sectors such as nuclear energy, the space and Museum of the Fatima, who is also the President of the 1st Cycle of DEWA’s Youth Council committee said the forum also sent out a strong message to Emirati women that their success will be celebrated forever.
She said there are 1,950 female employees working in DEWA, of whom, 83 per cent are Emiratis. This includes 785 female employees in the engineering and technical sector, while 321 female employees occupy leadership positions at DEWA. The percentage of Emirati women at the Research and Development Centre is 50 per cent, holding postgraduate degrees in the scientific and engineering fields. Female employees also participate in many volunteering activities. The total volunteering hours of DEWA’s female employees in 2021 amounted to more than 16,000 hours in 28 humanitarian and community initiatives. The women workforce are employed in different fields such as sustainable energy, civil engineering, innovation and other technical fields.”
The Women Committee ensures we have a direct engagement with all women working at DEWA by ensuring we have an active strategy and plan in place throughout the year. “A recent survey revealed the happiness rate of women working in DEWA was 94 per cent.
Message for Emirati women
Fatima said she felt privileged to be an Emirati woman. “We are very lucky to have such a great leadership that supports women in all sectors with different aspirations for their country. My message to all Emirati woman is to be pioneers in our respective sectors. The UAE is investing a lot on our women for their education. We need to take advantage of those opportunities and utilise them to the success of Emirati society and Emirati women specifically. I am so proud to see that Emirati women have proved themselves in various fields.”
Duty towards Emirati women
Al Tayer said: “DEWA strives to provide a positive and happy environment for its female employees that supports and empowers them to lead and unleash their powers and creativity, as well as develop their personal and life skills to deal with varying challenges. It also helps them build cohesive and happy families, and raise future generations safely and properly. This positively reflects on their social and professional lives, makes them happy and increases their productivity. DEWA continues to support Emirati women to become key partners along with their counterparts, to preserve and enhance gains and consolidate the UAE’s competitiveness,.”
“We all share a national duty to preserve Emirati women’s status, capitalise on previous achievements over the past 50 years and anticipate further success to achieve the UAE Centennial to make the UAE the world’s leading nation. God bless your hard work and efforts. Happy Emirati Women’s Day,” he added.
