SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT - UAE Interact

250 U N I T E D A R A B E M I R AT E S Y E A R B O O K 2 0 0 8The UAEBusinesswomen’sCouncil, a nationwidenetwork of business,professional andacademic women, wasset-up in 2002,supported by theFederation ofChambers ofCommerce andIndustry.Women now constitute22.4 per cent of the UAE’slabour force, up from only9.6 per cent in 1986.challenging workplace. In addition, many UAE women ceaseworking after marriage and bearing children, partly because ofan insufficiency of childcare centres and partly because maternalcare is considered to be more beneficial for their children.Nevertheless, women now constitute 22.4 per cent of the UAE'slabour force, up from only 9.6 per cent in 1986.WOMEN IN BUSINESSThe UAE Businesswomen Council (UAEBC), a nationwide networkof business, professional and academic women, was set-up in2002, supported by the Federation of Chambers of Commerceand Industry (FCCI). The Businesswomen Council has over 12,000members, running investments worth more than Dh25 billion(US$6.81 billion) in various fields, including trade, industry, finance,real estate, tourism, fairs and exhibitions, construction and services.In order to focus on the role of women in development, thecouncil, with the support of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerceand Industry (ADCCI), organised The Women’s Global EconomicForum in Abu Dhabi from 18 to 20 November 2007. The 850participants in the forum included businesswomen, representativesof ministries, governmental departments, the private sector,chambers of commerce and industry, business councils andassociations for women, as well as national committees on womenin the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)and other Arab countries.At the same time, Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Group (ADBW) isimplementing a number of major training initiatives in cooperationwith trading and educational partners to provide valuable workexperience for women and encourage female entrepreneurs.Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC) is providing womenentrepreneurs in the UAE with assistance for small and mediumventures, from compiling feasibility studies to consultancy in allareas, from setting up business to availability of finance.As mentioned above, the GWU has also been instrumental inassisting women to set up small businesses. In 2007 it launcheda programme funded by Women In Technology (WIT), the USState Department-funded programme that offers training to women