The Global Gender Gap Index annually benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions (Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment). It is the longest-standing index tracking the progress of numerous countries’ efforts towards closing these gaps over time since its inception in 2006.
Publication Type: Meem in media
Giving with a gender lens
Empowering women financially doesn’t just benefit individuals—it transforms families, communities, and entire economies. According to the UN, women reinvest 90% of their income back into their families, compared to 35% by men. This reinvestment leads to better education for children, healthier households, and stronger communities. Furthermore, the World Bank highlights that women’s labour force participation in the Middle East and North Africa currently stands at 19%. Closing the gender gap in employment could increase GDP per capita by 51% in the average MENA economy.
Muna Al Gurg launches Meem Foundation
“Meem Foundation’s vision is a world where all women and girls can achieve their ambitions.” With just this one line, Muna Al Gurg encapsulates the essence of her newest undertaking, and given all of the accomplishments that this Emirati businesswoman and philanthropist has had in her career so far, one cannot help but be excited about the impact that Meem Foundation -an entity seeking to create sustainable social change in the lives of women and girls in the MENA region- can potentially have.
Advancing gender equity in the Middle East workforce
The last decade has brought sweeping redefinition to workplaces across the Middle East. To a degree not seen before in the history of the region, women are fulfilling active roles in the private and public sectors, and the region is making strides in closing its gender gap, with governments setting ambitious goals and an increasing number of organizations adding gender diversity to their agenda. Several of these organizations are homegrown and pioneering gender equity practices and policies at a global level in a way that is uniquely reflective of the region’s cultural and societal context.