Women’s representation increases political stability and peace
Last month’s International Women’s Day was a reminder that despite the great progress that women have achieved in the fight for gender equality, the number of them at the top of the political and diplomatic ladder is still deplorably low. According to the 2022 Women in Diplomacy Index, curated by the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy, women make up a mere 21.6 per cent of ambassadors in the largest 40 economies of the world and the EU. The Council on Foreign Relations’ Women’s Power Index found that only 22 countries had a female head of state in 2021. Furthermore, only 13 countries had gender-equal cabinets, and only three had gender-equal legislatures in which women were elected to 50 per cent of the seats. There are 193 countries in the world. To most, gender equality remains a myth.
Some might look at these depressing statistics and be alarmed: why are we not seeing more women lead nations, governments, legislatures and embassies? Others might sound concerned, yet ultimately ask: “So what? What difference does having more women in leadership positions make?” The shortest answer is that it makes a large and very positive one and we have evidence to back up this assertion.
Let us begin with the handling of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. An analysis of 194 countries published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research and the World Economic Forum found that Covid-19 outcomes were “systematically better” in countries led by women. Germany’s Angela Merkel, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen, Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen and Finland’s Sanna Marin oversaw more proactive and co-ordinated responses to the challenges posed by the pandemic.
There is also evidence that female leaders focus on important socio-economic issues more than their male counterparts do. Drawing on over 40 years of bill-sponsorship data in the US, researchers found that women representatives sponsor crucial bills related to health, education, economic empowerment and gender-based violence more than men do. A separate study of parliamentarians in the US, UK, Rwanda and Russia, found that women pass more legislation than their male counterparts, and co-sponsor bills with other female colleagues across the political aisle at a higher rate than men.
Comment from The National
Not only does women’s representation matter in principle, it also increases political stability and peace. Several studies found that when more women are included in government, the likelihood of conflict decreases significantly. An analysis of 182 signed peace agreements between 1989 and 2011 by Inclusive Security found that they are 35 per cent more likely to hold and last when women are involved in the negotiation and mediation process. The inclusion of women in political decision-making reduces the likelihood of conflict, corruption, instability, state-sponsored terrorism and sexual violence. Despite that, women are routinely excluded from peace negotiations. The UN estimates that only 2.4 per cent of mediators and 9 per cent of negotiators are women. This blatant exclusion is an injustice and a wasted opportunity.
Our colleagues on the other side might legitimately question the efficacy of female leaders. Did Margaret Thatcher not launch the Falklands War that led to her re-election? Did Indira Gandhi not suspend democracy by imposing an emergency in India? How about Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi staying, silent in the face of the genocide of the Rohingya people? But these anecdotes do not negate our argument. In fact, they make the opposite point. They remind us of what stares us in the face: for every female leader with a blemish in her career, we can find hundreds of male leaders who have done much worse.
There is also the “meritocracy” argument that would have us believe that what matters is not the gender of a leader but their qualifications and experience. This, again, is an argument for including more women in leadership. If gender doesn’t matter, we can surely promote enough women to take on leadership roles in politics and diplomacy. Can we not find enough qualified women out of populations of millions to represent people in parliament, cabinets, or embassies? Evidently, the “meritocracy” argument has no merit.
Let’s also not forget that navigating male-dominated institutions and political structures can often lead women to choose conformity over disruption and, at other times, confrontation over co-operation. This is not in society's interest. What we need is more gender-inclusive structures where women can thrive and lead.
We would like to leave our readers and our colleagues with this thought: we’re not living in a world where gender equality is a reality. As such, we cannot know for certain whether a gender equal world will be more peaceful or whether the likelihood of war and the persistence of instability, poverty and man-made crises will diminish if more women have decision-making power. The evidence above seems to indicate as much. But to arrive at a definitive answer, more women need to be in senior political and diplomatic roles, in boardrooms, cabinets and parliaments, and governments must ensure that domestic and foreign policies empower women around the world. We simply must build a gender-equal world where women can lead. The facts are on our side and so is the moral imperative. The future will be, too.
Merit, not gender, is the most important asset in diplomacy
First up, a disclaimer. We, the authors, both men, are not male chauvinists. We are ideologically liberal feminists, but do not attribute lack of women’s empowerment to gender patriarchy, nor do we advocate a reset of the socio-economic-political order to ensure a just world.
The distinction is important because, as we grew up in different parts of the world (one in the Global South and the other in the Global North) the various feminist movements we have been exposed to have had similar results. This leads us to argue that peace and development can be gender neutral, without discounting the ongoing drive for women’s empowerment.
Approaching this purely as an academic debate, here are our arguments based on empirical facts rather than conviction.
In developing countries, women’s socio-economic rights have lagged behind political rights. Ironically, this is despite several Asian countries having had “elected” women heads of state. In fact, the first woman to be democratically elected as prime minister anywhere in the world was Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) in 1960.
Since then, Asia has had Indira Gandhi in India, Golda Meir in Israel, Corazon Aquino and Gloria Arroyo in the Philippines, Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, Khaleda Zia and Sheikha Hasina in Bangladesh, Chandrika Kumaratunga in Sri Lanka, Megawati Sukarnoputri in Indonesia, Yingluck Shinawatra in Thailand and Park Geun-hye in South Korea, as well as a few more partly elected and nominated heads.
Despite this long list of female leaders, the pace of women’s empowerment continues to be limited in these countries. As for peace, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 took place during Indira Gandhi’s stewardship, and Sri Lanka saw no decrease in the activities of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during Chandrika Kumaratunga’s reign.
In the Middle East, while some governing elites support women’s empowerment, there is still a strong social sentiment against women’s participation in politics, as well as economic and social discrimination. While the region has granted them the right to vote and contest in elections, a poll suggested that only 15 per cent of those surveyed were “confident” of a woman winning an election, as opposed to 57 per cent being sure that there would be no female winners. Another study revealed that more than 60 per cent of women “opposed” the participation of women in the elections. A study by the Women Affairs Committee of the Democratic Arab-Islamic Wassat Society found that “women are still not convinced about the ability of other women to run for public offices”.
If developing countries justify contrarian positions regarding leadership roles, developed countries are replete with examples of senior female diplomats not being peaceniks. Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright was part of then president Bill Clinton’s war plan in Bosnia; Condoleezza Rice, one of her successors, has repeatedly justified wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as did former top diplomat Hillary Clinton.
And most recently, America’s first female vice-president, Kamala Harris, has not had much diplomatic impact in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Even 11 women defence and foreign ministers currently serving in the 27-member European Union could not prevent warmongering in their neighbourhoods.
A large part of feminist theory asserts that war, racism and repression thrive under patriarchy. If indeed women’s leadership is touted to naturally generate a more inclusive world, how do we explain women being leaders of some neo-fascist and right-wing political parties? Further, why are they silent about gender studies programmes being banned in some European universities?
If these are examples from the political-diplomatic arenas, here is one from wider society. Finland’s current coalition government has five parties, all led by young women. About half the country’s legislative and ministerial offices are occupied by women. This has placed Finland second in the 2021 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report.
Yet 23 per cent of women in the 15 to 49-year category experienced domestic violence in their lifetimes, according to the 2021 UN Global Database on the Prevalence of Violence Against Women. While this is just lower than in the US and the UK, it is higher than in France, Sweden, Italy and Spain – all countries with far less female representatives in the parliaments and governments.
Moreover, though the Nordic countries are the most gender equal in the world, men and women are still making gender-traditional choices in education and work.
Thus, it is not imperative to presume or insist that gender is a deciding factor in diplomacy and leadership. Leaders are not better because they are women, as they are not exempt from economic, domestic and geopolitical realities. Pure biological and psychological differences between men and women do not mean that one is better than the other to ensure peace. It is also, therefore, not vital to believe and advocate that more women in leadership and diplomatic positions would enable a better world.
In such a milieu, is it prudent to use quotas to achieve gender balance as some experts advocate? While gender balance is something to aspire to, would it not be better if this can be achieved through an organic rather than an alienating process? Should we marginalise either half of the population? Where does the buck stop for women’s empowerment – with governments, men or women themselves?
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Liverpool’s fixtures until end of 2019
Saturday, November 30, Brighton (h)
Wednesday, December 4, Everton (h)
Saturday, December 7, Bournemouth (a)
Tuesday, December 10, Salzburg (a) CL
Saturday, December 14, Watford (h)
Tuesday, December 17, Aston Villa (a) League Cup
Wednesday, December 18, Club World Cup in Qatar
Saturday, December 21, Club World Cup in Qatar
Thursday, December 26, Leicester (a)
Sunday, December 29, Wolves (h)
At a glance - Zayed Sustainability Prize 2020
Launched: 2008
Categories: Health, energy, water, food, global high schools
Prize: Dh2.2 million (Dh360,000 for global high schools category)
Winners’ announcement: Monday, January 13
Impact in numbers
335 million people positively impacted by projects
430,000 jobs created
10 million people given access to clean and affordable drinking water
50 million homes powered by renewable energy
6.5 billion litres of water saved
26 million school children given solar lighting
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The lowdown
Bohemian Rhapsody
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Naga
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About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
WITHIN%20SAND
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POSSIBLE ENGLAND EURO 2020 SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Dean Henderson.
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Joe Gomez, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Ben Chilwell, Fabian Delph.
Midfielders: Declan Rice, Harry Winks, Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley, Mason Mount, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Forwards: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Championship play-offs, second legs:
Aston Villa 0
Middlesbrough 0
(Aston Villa advance 1-0 on aggregate)
Fulham 2
Sessegnon (47'), Odoi (66')
Derby County 0
(Fulham advance 2-1 on aggregate)
Final
Saturday, May 26, Wembley. Kick off 8pm (UAE)
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
THE BIO
Age: 33
Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill
Favourite breed of dog: All of them. I can’t possibly pick a favourite.
Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?
Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in
Astroworld
Travis Scott
Grand Hustle/Epic/Cactus Jack
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
RIDE%20ON
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Kandahar%20
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%3Cp%3E1.%20Labour%20productivity%20is%20lower%20than%20the%20average%20of%20the%20developed%20economies%2C%20particularly%20in%20the%20non-tradable%20industries.%3Cbr%3E2.%20The%20low%20level%20of%20basic%20skills%20among%20workers%20and%20the%20high%20level%20of%20inequality%20between%20those%20with%20various%20skills.%3Cbr%3E3.%20Low%20employment%20rates%2C%20particularly%20among%20Arab%20women%20and%20Ultra-Othodox%20Jewish%20men.%3Cbr%3E4.%20A%20lack%20of%20basic%20knowledge%20required%20for%20integration%20into%20the%20labour%20force%2C%20due%20to%20the%20lack%20of%20core%20curriculum%20studies%20in%20schools%20for%20Ultra-Othodox%20Jews.%3Cbr%3E5.%20A%20need%20to%20upgrade%20and%20expand%20physical%20infrastructure%2C%20particularly%20mass%20transit%20infrastructure.%3Cbr%3E6.%20The%20poverty%20rate%20at%20more%20than%20double%20the%20OECD%20average.%3Cbr%3E7.%20Population%20growth%20of%20about%202%20per%20cent%20per%20year%2C%20compared%20to%200.6%20per%20cent%20OECD%20average%20posing%20challenge%20for%20fiscal%20policy%20and%20underpinning%20pressure%20on%20education%2C%20health%20care%2C%20welfare%20housing%20and%20physical%20infrastructure%2C%20which%20will%20increase%20in%20the%20coming%20years.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Company%20profile%20
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Honeymoonish
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The specs: 2017 Maserati Quattroporte
Price, base / as tested Dh389,000 / Dh559,000
Engine 3.0L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 530hp @ 6,800rpm
Torque 650Nm @ 2,000 rpm
Fuel economy, combined 10.7L / 100km
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
