Emaar Hospitality Group, the hospitality and leisure business of global developer Emaar Properties PJSC, has unveiled its new leadership development strategy for women, named ‘Hiya,’ which aims to help achieve gender parity at the workplace.

This complements the vision of the UAE government to promote women’s participation across businesses and to achieve a gender-equal work environment, and builds on the call by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to position UAE as one of the top 25 countries for gender equality by 2021.

The immediate goal of Hiya is to achieve 30 per cent women in executive leadership positions, 50 per cent women in general manager roles, 40 per cent women in management positions and 32 per cent women in supervisory positions by 2019. The long-run goal is to achieve gender parity across all positions for the Group through a clear strategy underpinned by Hiya.

Olivier Harnisch, Chief Executive Officer of Emaar Hospitality Group, said: “We are rolling out this ambitious strategy to achieve gender parity across all our business divisions. We have set actionable goals to begin with, and we are working on a concerted strategy under Hiya to achieve our mission. With the UAE leading in women empowerment initiatives, we believe that it is important for us to take the lead in supporting the gender parity vision of the government. As one of the largest providers of employment in the hospitality sector, we can bring a positive change through our credible action plan with clear timelines.”

Harnisch added: “Women empowerment at the workplace and promoting gender parity has an add-on effect, as it will motivate more women employees to aspire and work towards senior leadership goals. Through our focus on all four key metrices of gender diversity – recruitment, retention, advancement and pay – we aim to build a strong talent pool of women professionals in senior roles across our Group. In this, we place top priority in identifying and building the careers of Emirati women.”

As part of Hiya, Emaar Hospitality Group will look at recruiting women by underlining the positive and growth-driven work environment at the Group, selecting talented women and headhunting exceptional women professionals for senior roles. A clear succession programme is also being put in place with a focus on identifying and retaining women talent, developing them and promoting them to senior roles, thus establishing Emaar Hospitality Group as an employer of choice for women.

Emaar Hospitality Group is increasing the employee value proposition for women through favourable workplace policies, sharing the stories of successful women associates – in turn, motivating others, building value champions who serve as effective spokespersons for internal and external communications, and highlighting the role models in-house. The Group will not only offer women-friendly policies such as enhanced maternity leave, but also provision for part-time work and external learning facilities – all aimed at supporting women to place their careers on par with family. Hiya has already been activated and over the next months there will be clearly defined programmes to ensure that the milestones and goals are achieved.

The Hiya strategy will cover all businesses of Emaar Hospitality Group, covering corporate roles, front and back-office hotel associates to administrators and marketing, sales, finance, HR, logistics, and other professionals. An equal opportunity company, the Group welcomes professionals from across the world who are passionate about building a long-term career in the hospitality sector.

Emaar Hospitality Group has 13 operational hotel and serviced residences in Dubai under three hotel brands – the premium luxury Address Hotels + Resorts, the upscale lifestyle Vida Hotels and Resorts and the contemporary midscale Rove Hotels. It also has key leisure assets – Arabian Ranches Golf Club, Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club and Dubai Marina Yacht Club, as well as restaurants – At.mosphere, Burj Khalifa, La Serre Bistro & Boulangerie, Sean Connelly at Dubai Opera, Toko and Katana.

According to the Human Development Report 2018, compiled by the United Arab Emirates University with the United Nations Development Programme, the UAE ranks highest for gender equality in the GCC.