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Although expatriate women tend to earn less than men due to the gender wage gap, they send a higher proportion of their salaries back home and remit money more consistently, according to data collected by the UAE’s Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group (FERG).
On average, women remit between 1,500 UAE dirhams ($408.5) and 2,000 UAE dirhams per month. The money is mostly sent as bank transfers or cash pickups and used for family maintenance, education and healthcare, FERG said in a statement.
FERG is a non-profit organisation based on an initiative by the Central Bank of UAE.
According to data collected by FERG, there was an increase in remittances by women in the UAE in 2020. On average, women represented 25 percent of remitters in the UAE in 2020.
Mohamed Ali Al Ansari, Chairman of FERG, said: “Achieving Gender Equality by 2030 is one of the Sustainable Development Goals laid down by the United Nations. Recognising the economic significance of female migrant workers is crucial in reaching this goal. Female migrants make up approximately half of all the global migrant workforce, and therefore, their contribution to the global economy is of paramount importance.
Al Fardan Exchange, one of the FERG members, reported a 12.6 percent increase in remittances by women in 2020, as compared to the previous year. Lulu Exchange reported an increase of 2.63 percent in 2020, compared to 2019, and an increase of 17.77 percent compared to 2017.
The data also revealed that remittances by Asian women in the UAE saw the most significant year-on-year growth, followed by Arab and African women, respectively. The top corridors with the highest remittances done by women in the UAE are the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Egypt, Morocco and Uganda.
FERG’s data also revealed that the effect of the pandemic was marginal and negligible on transactions carried out by women.
(Writing by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz)
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© ZAWYA 2021
