Global Software Firm Emerson promotes gender equality in UAE business leadership roles

Global software and engineering leader Emerson has joined a group of two dozen major multinational companies in signing a pledge to promote gender equality and increase leadership roles for women in the UAE. The ‘Pledge to Accelerate Women’s Leadership in the UAE Private Sector’ seeks to ensure equal pay and fair compensation practices, promote equitable recruitment and promotion, guarantee fairness in policies, and encourage transparency about progress.

The public-private initiative was established in 2019 by the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) of the UAE’s National Committee on SDGs, the UAE Gender Balance Council (UAE GBC), and the Federal Competitiveness And Statistics Centre (FCSC) to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality, which prioritizes highlighting the importance of women’s participation at all levels of decision-making in business.

To achieve this, Emerson and 23 business leaders in strategic sectors pledged to increase the entry and retention rates of women in leadership positions to 30% by 2025. Emerson is among 15 US companies that have signed the pledge to date.

“As part of our efforts to build a dynamic work culture, we are committed to accelerating the role of women in our company’s leadership in the UAE,” said Vidya Ramnath, President of Emerson Middle East and Africa. “We are also honoured to be recognised as the ‘Oil and Gas Inclusion and Diversity Company of the Year’ at ADIPEC 2022 for our successful initiatives that positively impact the industry through diversity, equity, and inclusion programmes.”

Globally, Emerson aims to increase the representation of women in leadership from 20% in 2021 to 40% by 2030. Likewise, the UAE has prioritised the UN SDGs in its strategic plans and operations, strengthening Emerson’s commitment to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in its workplace.

The pledge is the latest of several important Emerson initiatives that aspire to improve gender parity, such as the Women’s Impact Network, an employee resource group (ERG) that offers support, mentoring and networking opportunities for its 6000 members across the globe. Emerson also hosts other programmes, including webinars and events with organisational partners like the Society of Women Engineers, to attract a new generation of women to its workforce.