The CEO of Abu Dhabi-based Aldar Education believes schools have a “gigantic role” to play in nurturing the future female leaders of the world, but stressed it also requires a collective effort from everyone to ensure young women are afforded the best opportunities to succeed.
According to the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Gender Gap report, the UAE is ranked as a leading country in gender equality in the region. As far as education attainment is concerned, the country ranks 89th.
“I think that there’s definitely a shift. There’s still a gap but the gap is getting smaller. That being said, there are huge strides needed to make to bridge that gap,” Aldar Education CEO Sahar Cooper told Arabian Business.
While the literacy rate of both women and men in the country is close to 95 percent, more women than men complete secondary education and enrol in university and post-graduate institutions.
According to government statistics, 77 percent of Emirati women enrol in higher education after secondary school and make up 70 percent of university graduates in the UAE.
Cooper said: “I do think we all have a role to play in changing the look of leadership in our world. Inside the schools and outside the schools there is a collective role to play. We need to continue to talk to girls about leadership. We need to make sure that, when they’re young, we’re talking to them about the leadership skills, build their confidence, enable them to tackle problems, create opportunities from challenges so that they can be the leaders of tomorrow.
“It’s not enough in the classroom; it’s in the classroom, it’s at home, it’s the leadership of the company, the country, all together.”
In recent years, there has been a particular push towards encouraging girls towards careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) – 56 percent of UAE government university graduates in STEM are women.
In that area they have a perfect role model in Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology, chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency and science lead of the successful Emirates Hope Mars Mission.
At the UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), 42 percent of the workforce are Emirati women – 70 percent make up the UAE’s Astronaut Programme and 34 percent the Hope Mars Mission.
77 percent of Emirati women enrol in higher education after secondary school and make up 70 percent of university graduates in the UAE, according to government statistics.
Cooper said: “In the classroom or outside the classroom, remember the girls will look at us adults to model behaviour, so we need to make sure that our actions make a significant, positive impact. Simple changes like encouraging girls to engage in STEM-led activities rather than the typical, stereotype girls’ activities, at home and at school.
“Provide them with mentors. That is something that is supported by the leadership of the UAE.”
Figures released by the UAE’s Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre revealed female graduates specialising in information and communication technology account for 49.1 percent of total graduates while the number of female students enrolled in higher education is 362,687, the number of female Master’s degree holders is 207,630, the number of female PhD holders is 15,426, and female graduates in the fields of journalism, media and social sciences account for 63 percent.
Explaining her route to the helm of the organisation, Cooper said: “There were a lot of challenges. It comes from my upbringing. My family never brought me up to look at myself as different or less than any man. I know my strengths and I know my areas of development so I’ve always been competent in the areas of my expertise, adaptable, flexible.”
She added: “You have to have the tenacity, you have to have the grit, you have to have the humility. There’s nothing wrong with understanding your strengths and understanding the areas of development where you can better yourself, and ask for help.”
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