The first of its kind in Dubai in the field of maintaining balance between work and family life
Under the patronage of HH Sheikha Manal Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment and Wife of HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE Cabinet and Presidential Affairs Minister, Dubai Customs launched the Working Mother Award 2010 in cooperation with Dubai Women Establishment.
The Award is considered the first of its kind among government and local departments to recognize the female employees at the Department who managed to create a balance between social and professional life and increase their productivity.
The Award is granted to the female employees who represent a role model for successful working mothers and are able to keep a balance between work and family life besides raising a distinguished and talented future generation which brings much pride, besides demonstrating the upper management support at Dubai Customs to the working mothers and motivating and encouraging them.
The Award aims to increase the female employees' satisfaction and maintain the competent and well-qualified female cadre. It also seeks to provide a tool for reinforcing fruitful competition among the female employees at the Department through providing incentives and encouraging conditions.
Commenting on this event, HH Sheikha Manal Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said:" The UAE has honored women and ensured their rights which suit their presence and role in the family and society. Women are key partners to sustainable development who can push the wheel of progress forward, they have gained the support and appreciation of our wise leadership and the Emirati women were fortunate to have a prestigious position and play a prominent role in all local and international events."
HH Sheikha Manal commended Dubai Customs initiative for launching the Award in cooperation with Dubai Women Establishment. She stressed that Dubai Women Establishment is keen on supporting and sponsoring this initiative which consolidates the efforts made in increasing women's participation in life as a whole. She also urged all government organizations to launch similar initiatives to this Award in order to ensure encouraging female workers to contribute to the society's prosperity and achieve their aspirations.
Mrs. Feryal Tawakul, Executive Director of Community Affairs and Government Partnership and Head of the Award's Supervising Committee noted that participation in the Award is open to all working mothers at Dubai Customs irrespective of their nationality as long as they have been working with Customs for over a year and have an "exceeding expectations" performance assessment, besides having at least one child and if their children were passing their academic records.
Mrs. Tawakul stated that the Award has three categories; the working mother in the field domain, the working mother in the administrative domain and the special awarding category. Three criteria were set to select the winners of this Award; the first of which is Family Distinction (i.e. number of family members, the mothers' responsibilities, children's academic records and achievements, ability to motivate children's creativity and develop their talents and providing them with healthcare). The second criterion is Professional Excellence (i.e. achieving individual accomplishments and exceeding expectations and job tasks, swiftness and precision in executing job responsibilities, number of the submitted creative ideas and their effects and results on business at the Department and participating in official and non official events and voluntary actions). The third one is the ability to balance between motherhood and career requirements (i.e. difficulties and obstacles encountered in both professional and family life and how they are overcome and making good use of creative tools and mechanisms to balance between work and family).
Mrs. Tawakul further noted that a committee will be created to evaluate and choose the winners of the Award. Members of the committee shall be well-experienced in this field and are unbiased; it will also include members of the Women's Committee, the Assessment Center and Corporate Excellence Department at Dubai Customs in addition to Dubai Women Establishment.
The Supervising Committee of the Working Mother Award consists of the Executive Director of Community Affairs and Government Partnership at Dubai Customs, who is also the Head of the committee, the Executive Director of Dubai Women Establishment, a leader from a government organization, Manager of Customs Audit Department at Dubai Customs, the Assessment Center Psychiatric and the Corporate Excellence Consultant at Dubai Customs.
Dubai Customs has set the first week of December 2010 as the deadline to receiving the participations forms in the Award.
H.E. Ahmed Butti Ahmed, Executive Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation and Dubai Customs Director General stressed:" The Working Mother Award is an excellent example of the support and appreciation the female employees receive at Dubai Customs. The Department has always been keen on giving female employees a good share of customs business and fostering their roles in managing all the customs entries and centers as well as other available jobs in administration, inspection of goods and upper management. Customs was among the first government departments to cater for women's needs and benefit from their energies in leading the Department into success and in handling the development plans and programs at all the organizational units."
H.E. Ahmed Butti pointed out that the female employees at Dubai Customs contribute to 22% of the total manpower of around 3000 employees. "Such percentage reflects on the Department's attention to the female employees and giving them equal opportunities of moving up the ladder and getting promoted to higher managerial positions." He added.
Currently, 40 female employees are assigned in high leadership positions at Customs "Hence, the Award comes in the perfect time to award the working mothers at the Department and celebrate their achievements and success in career and family life." He said.
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For more information:
Mrs. Hiba Hamzih
Media Relation Officer-Dubai Customs
Mob.:050 7483837
Dir.: 04 3023392
E-mail: hiba.hamzih@dubaicustoms.ae
© Press Release 2010
