Authorities in the United Arab Emirates are being slammed after it emerged that all of the winners of an initiative designed to boost gender equality were bagged by men. The Dubai Media office shared photos of the winners of the 'the Gender Balance Index 2018' awards on Twitter, which prompted the outrage. The Index featured winners in three categories—the Best Personality for Supporting Gender Balance, Best Federal Entity for Supporting Gender Balance, and the Best Initiative for Supporting Gender Balance. However, users on social media expressed surprise that no woman was ajudged worthy of getting an award for gender equality. Certificates and medals were awarded by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, who also said that he was proud of Emirati women. "We are proud of the success of Emirati women and their role is central to shaping the future of the country. Gender balance has become a pillar in our governmental institution," the media office quoted Rashid al-Maktoum. . @HHShkMohd: We are proud of the success of Emirati women and their role is central to shaping the future of the country. Gender balance has become a pillar in our governmental institutions. #UAE pic.twitter.com/zKPkn9nTMd — Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) January 27, 2019 Sheikh Maktoum "recognised the efforts" of only one woman, Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the wife of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. However, she did not win an award, the press release read. On his personal Twitter account, Sheikh Maktoum described the awards as a "great effort led by many parties to establish an environment that achieves a balance between the two sexes", as translated by Business Insider. كرمنا اليوم الفائزين بمؤشر التوازن بين الجنسين في دولة الامارات . جهود كبيرة قادتها الكثير من الجهات لترسيخ بيئة تحقق توازنا كاملا بين الجنسين . كان الشيخ سيف بن زايد الشخصية الأبرز في دعم هذا الملف . له ولإخوانه وزملائه في حكومة الامارات كل التقدير والشكر .. pic.twitter.com/z36gZIUstM — HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) January 27, 2019 People on social media were quick to mock and troll the UAE government for the awards. This is The Onion-worthy, no edits needed. — Raymond Lidal (@rlidal) January 29, 2019 *We are proud of the success of Emirati women. ok let's give all the awards to men* The irony is too strong here! — AB (@ahlamsaga) January 29, 2019 I'm surprised it wasn't white men who figured out how to so magnificently make gender into another way to congratulate themselves, but hey, we live in a globalized world, where all men are equally entitled to erase women from stories about themselves. (ht @michelefilmat11) — Jina Moore (@itsjina) January 29, 2019 So much gender balancing going on here!!! LOL! 🤦♀️ — Marjan Kamyab (@Marjank16) January 29, 2019 Sometimes you just have to laugh when ppl forget to take the diversity & equity training before claiming theyve done sometiing for diversity & equity lol — Priya Shah (@PriyaShah16) January 29, 2019 When your idea of "gender balanced" means no other gender is included.. 🙄 — DevChick (@jynclr) January 29, 2019 This is beyond belief. I don't know whether to laugh or cry @ManelWatchUS @manelwatchpk #manelwatchdubai #genderequity #genderbalance #OhMyGod — Samar Hasan (@SamarHasantwtr) January 29, 2019 Beyond parody! — Shrishti Negi (@shrishti_03) January 29, 2019 And the award for unintentionally hilarious tweet of the day goes to - — Billy Swagspeare (@bswagspeare) January 29, 2019 😂😂😂 Comedy gold this. You couldn't make this up if You tried. I think you forgot the ladies. — Maria🇪🇺🏟🏞☕🍓🍫🌻 (@Maree8184) January 28, 2019 Next time try recognizing actual women, empowering, and creating, real opportunities for gender equality. — Jennifer Larsen (@GoGoGreenMonkey) January 28, 2019 How can ‘gender balance’ be a pillar in your organisations when it’s not even in your photographs? — Naseerah (@Naz_Faulkner) January 28, 2019 United Sarcasm Emirates pic.twitter.com/fYrHKsBMwE — ＳＵＲＲＥＡＬＩＴＥＥＳ (@SurrealiTees) January 28, 2019 All the winners are men, absurd. You are now a laughing stock. Can't tell the difference between boys and girls. — JoWilko (@solarjoanne) January 28, 2019 More ladies getting awards go girls pic.twitter.com/U9OGQWKSPK — emkayoh (@emkayoh) January 28, 2019 A United Nations Development Programme study from 2018 said that UAE had made significant progress in bringing women into the workforce.
