Developments in empowering and supporting women's role in scientific research in the United Arab Emirates

Women bring unique perspectives, crossing barriers, paving the way for future generations by contributing to building more inclusive and innovative societies. However, gender discrimination remains an issue of concern (Gauci et al., 2022). The progress made by women in various spheres of life can vary significantly across different countries and regions of the world. There are also ongoing debates such as disparities in pay between men and women and workplace inequalities for women (Gauci et al., 2022). “The woman is half of the society; any country which pursues development should not leave her in poverty or illiteracy.”—Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, The Founder of the UAE. As such in the UAE the status of women has consistently evolved over recent years and this is attributed to multiple factors including the openness and modernization of society, the improved access to education, the change in cultural values, economic development, and perhaps most importantly, the support of leaders to women's rights and education (The UAE government, 2022). However, despite several national initiatives to increase women's employability and their contribution to community development and society, the involvement of women in some sectors in the UAE is still limited. An important development arising out of the international ‘women's movement’, has been the encouragement and advancement of women in science. Women are encouraged to take their rightful place among men in this sector of society, and indeed, there are many initiatives to support this globally. Moreover, there is increased attention to equality for women in the university sector. For example, the Athena Swan Charter was one of several Equality Charters (2023) established to fight for a practical and tangible commitment to expanding women's positions in higher education and research. It was founded in 2005 by Advance HE (2023), a philanthropic organization dedicated to improving conditions at higher education institutions in the United Kingdom (UK). In the first instance, this related mostly to the careers of women working in the areas of universities to apply for confirmation of its adherence to gender equity in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (known as STEMM). There was significant attention paid to this requirement and achievement, with many universities employing key dedicated personnel to support these endeavours and the broader agenda of supporting equality within the organizations. While Athena Swan developments arose largely in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the promotion of women in science, and lobbying for greater opportunities for women in the university is also promoted in other countries globally such as the United States of America (USA) and Australia. While the UAE has no such charter, there is a strong commitment to the promotion of women standing in science and research. Involving women in science has become a critical component of the country's national policy (The UAE Government, 2022). This was manifested by supporting women's education, providing them with right knowledge and skills, and launching numerous initiatives and programs to encourage women's participation in all scientific fields. For instance, since 2016, the UAE Ministry of Education has hosted an annual ceremony for the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science (FWIS) International Awards to honour outstanding achievements of women in science (UNESCO, L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Programme, 2023). This acts as a platform to inspire and encourage women in the UAE to participate in scientific research across a variety of professions. At the same time, only a limited number of women in the UAE engage in scientific research mainly due to lack of confidence in women's capacities to conduct scientific research while balancing other familial duties (Bani-Issa et al., 2022). This is mainly due to social pressure, stereotyping and bias in recruitment and hiring in some sectors. However, in this editorial we would like to highlight an inspiring national initiative, by the largest higher education institution in the UAE, the University of Sharjah, to recognize women's contribution to scientific research. The University is one of the first academic institutions in the UAE to implement a national program that encourages and supports women to excel in scientific research locally and internationally (Women in Research, 2023). In 2019, the outreach department at the University started the implementation of a program that trains female faculty, students, and staff in scientific research skills by inviting expert researchers and through running a series of research seminars on writing proposals, appraising literature, analysing data and writing manuscripts (Women in Research, 2023). The main objective of the program is to establish a strong network of researchers and involve women to be an essential part of research efforts in the country. This department has been instrumental in supporting the Department of Nursing (2023), whose efforts to support the professional development of nursing in the UAE are in their relative infancy. Attracting faculty from all over the world, this predominantly female cohort has been supported by the initiative. The Department, founded in 1999, is currently at the forefront of developments in nursing, offering a Master's degree in Adult Critical Care and setting the plans for a PhD program in Nursing. Publications from the group have risen sharply in the last 5 years (Scival, 2023). In the field of ‘nursing’ there were 62 in 2021, compared with 12 in 2019, representing a growth of 416% (Scival, 2023). Field weighted citation (2019–2022) is above average (2.03) and most publications (94.5%) represent international collaborations. This is a great achievement, particularly considering the small number of Faculty (n = 9). During the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty produced impactful scientific publications to assist nurses deliver the best care during the pandemic and, hence, serve the healthcare system and society through scientific research (Abdul Rahman et al., 2021; Ahmed et al., 2022; Bani-issa et al., 2021). To further support women to excel in research, the University of Sharjah established the ‘Women in Research Committee’ to grow female participation in research and identify and remove any barriers to such participation. This too has been very supportive of the Department of Nursing acknowledging nursing as an important scientific field that is contributing to the society. The committee sought to use an interdisciplinary strategy for knowledge generation that included female academics from various fields working with female nurse researchers (Jones et al., 2019). The committee selected the term ‘QUWA’, meaning ‘Power’ in Arabic language, as its main slogan for the group, to boost self-confidence of female researchers in conducting research. The main functions of the committee include organizing research training sessions and workshops, participating in research initiatives related to women in research in the country, promoting the writing of research proposals, collecting statistics about women in research in the region, raising the profile of women participating in research, as well as seeking collaboration and funding from internal and external organizations for women in different research areas. The committee encourages women to submit their research contributions in all types of sciences and subjects, including Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Law, and Islamic Studies, Communication and Business Administration, Fine Art and Design, Health Sciences, Pharmacy, Medicine and Dentistry, Engineering, Sciences, Computing and Informatics. The active networking and collaboration on similar research projects were the main objectives of the committee (Women in Research, 2023). One of the milestones of the University was spearheading and hosting an Annual Research Forum for women. This entailed and soliciting research proposals' submissions by women researchers to enable them to compete for monetary awards and prizes sponsored by national funding agencies to support submitted research proposals. Female graduate students in all disciplines were encouraged to apply to sponsor their research work. Sponsors from industry, private and governmental sectors supported this initiative to contribute to the advancement of research by women. The first round (2020) of this annual research forum started by inviting female researchers from the University of Sharjah, and the second round (2021) expanded to female researchers from all UAE universities, and the third round (2022) invited female researchers from within the Gulf Cooperative Council countries. This year the UOS is planning to extend the network to also invite women from throughout the Arab World and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. Table 1 provides an outline of the contributors during these cycles. Although the above-mentioned initiatives represent an inspiring example to support women researchers in all scientific fields, the representation of scientific fields that are dominated mainly by women, especially nursing, remains suboptimal (Al-Yateem et al., 2019). Empowering female researchers calls for the endorsement, implementation and evaluation of strategies and programs that would remove barriers and capitalize on enablers to unleash the full contribution of female researchers in the development of societies, science, and service of humanity (National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine, 2020). In our recent example of the Research Outreach Department, we aimed at establishing a model of interdisciplinary collaboration between academia, private and public sectors to support and empower women in research. This model can be adopted and implemented at larger level by other universities, not only within the UAE, but in all academic institutions in which female researchers in all disciplines represent a core mass of faculty members. Such collaborative-interdisciplinary models can open venues for women to be empowered to drive the progress in different spheres of life through scientific research (Guevara-Ramírez et al., 2022). Recent policies and programs need to be revisited to address and support women's empowerment in research while working with local communities and organizations. Factors that may hinder women's involvement in research like cultural norms and values, political and economic systems, and access to resources and education must be addressed in future policies (Guevara-Ramírez et al., 2022). Some countries may have more progressive policies and programs that support women's empowerment, while others may lack these resources and face significant cultural or societal barriers. Highlighting successful stories, support of men leaders, provide recognitions and awards, and securing sufficient mentorship experiences could further empower women to be involved in research (Guevara-Ramírez et al., 2022). The establishment of local and international charters for women in research can serve as a platform to build solidarity, remove negative stereotyping, share life experiences, mentor young researchers, and build trust, all of which could empower women to excel in research. None. Data available on request due to privacy/ethical restrictions.