United Arab Emirates is mocked online after its gender equality awards are won entirely by MEN

UAE gender equality awards are won entirely by MEN

  • UAE government held their annual Gender Balance Index awards in Dubai
  • Awards in all categories were handed to men by Vice President of UAE
  • Many social media users ridiculed the complete lack of female winners
  • Vice President’s daughter ‘recognised’ for her work but she was not present 

The United Arab Emirates is being ridiculed online after holding their annual ‘gender equality’ awards – and all the winners were revealed to be men.

Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai, handed out prizes at the Gender Balance Index 2018 ceremony in Dubai on Sunday.

When the Dubai government posted photographs of the winners being handed their prizes on its official Twitter, they were met by mockery, with some even asking if the account had been hacked. 

Best men: Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, pictured left, Vice President of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai, handed out prizes at the Gender Balance Index 2018 ceremony

The UAE government and the Dubai ruler were mocked by social media users after the photos of the Gender Balance Index winners were posted on Twitter

The UAE government and the Dubai ruler were mocked by social media users after the photos of the Gender Balance Index winners were posted on Twitter

‘Wow really nailed the diversity there. One of those dudes was wearing gray,’ one person tweeted in response.

One person added: ‘And they say that satire is dead,’ while another tweeted that Dubai had made themselves ‘a laughing stock in the eyes of the world’.

The UAE’s Gender Balance Index awards ‘initiatives and programmes undertaken by various government entities to promote equal opportunities for both men and women’, according to the Dubai government.

There are four categories:  Best Personality Supporting Gender Balance, Best Federal Authority Supporting Gender Balance, Best Government Entity Supporting Gender Balance and the Best Gender Balance Initiative.

'I won': Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Nasser bin Thani Juma al-Hamli, right, accepts his award

‘I won’: Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Nasser bin Thani Juma al-Hamli, right, accepts his award

The one in grey: Abdulla Nasser Lootah, right, director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority Abdulla Nasser Lootah, was also awarded

The one in grey: Abdulla Nasser Lootah, right, director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority Abdulla Nasser Lootah, was also awarded

Twitter users joked that the Dubai government had 'nailed diversity' while others asked if their account had been hacked

Twitter users joked that the Dubai government had ‘nailed diversity’ while others asked if their account had been hacked

While all four awards were accepted by men, Sheik Mohammed acknowledged the work of one woman: his own daughter Sheika Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoumm whose husband is the Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE..

His Highness ‘recognised the efforts of the Gender Balance Council, headed by Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs,’ a statement published by the Dubai government said.

‘We are proud of the success of Emirati women and their role is central to shaping the future of the country,’ Sheik Mohammed was quoted as saying by the Dubai Media Office as he handed over the awards.

‘Gender balance has become a pillar in our governmental institutions,’ he added.

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