Championing Women From East To West: The British Embassy UAE Celebrates International Women’s Day
A series of impactful initiatives by Go For It! is empowering women and girls in the UAE and UK, driving meaningful change for an equal future
Saturday March 8, 2025 marks the UN International Women’s Day – a day to celebrate all the incredible women in our lives who often don’t get the recognition they deserve. This year’s theme, “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment,” serves as a reminder that every woman, regardless of background, deserves equal opportunities, rights, and power. As young girls, we grew up with big dreams, and this day reminds us that we should all have the chance to achieve them. This isn’t just a whim, it’s a right, one that we must continue to fight for.
To support this vision, women from the UK and UAE came together as part of the GREAT Females Inspire (Go For It!) project, a key project of the British Embassy UAE, which is pioneering small but significant steps towards achieving big goals in female equality. Starting in the sporting world, the project has partnered with the Newcastle United Foundation to conduct coaching sessions, which have not only taught technical skills but have also emphasised the importance of creating inspiring environments for young female athletes. Additionally, British female athletes from Empowered Leaders – a UK based women’s team in the GCC focused on empowerment through sports – hosted workshops on leadership strategy for young girls in football, working alongside Banaat FC, the UAE’s first female football club, and the Dubai Sports Council.
The initiative has also fostered cross-cultural collaboration through the Global Women’s Forum, organised by the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF) and The WOW Foundation. This event brought together 24 women from the UAE and UK for discussions on leadership, cultural exchange, and personal growth. Prominent Emirati women, including Eman Al Hashimi, Sheikha Mariam Al Qassimi and Maisoon Al Saleh engaged in thought-provoking conversations about identity, economic empowerment, and the challenges faced by female leaders in various sectors.
Amplifying women’s voices is a vital part of this movement. To help women leaders communicate with confidence, a further activation has been conceived, spearheaded by the Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed Initiative and the UAE Diplomacy Lab. Hosting a ‘Speaking with Impact’ masterclass, the initiative enabled former BBC broadcasters to help female leaders enhance their public speaking skills, coaching them to speak with clarity and confidence.
There have been further activations in the literary world thanks to a collaboration with the Emirates Literature Foundation, which shone a spotlight upon British female authors of colour. Subhadra Das, author of Uncivilised: Ten Lies That Made the West, challenged misconceptions about Western history, while Ella Phillips, co-author of From Plant to Plate, shared insights on sustainability and healthy eating with students. These initiatives work together to empower women and girls, fostering leadership, knowledge sharing, and upskilling across multiple fields, one small but confident stride at a time.
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