The initiative was held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, President of the Dubai Women Establishment, and the wife of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court.

Mona Al Marri, Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, chairs the Global Council on SDG 5 (Gender Equality), which aims to develop a Policy Note on Preventing and Addressing Gender-based Violence to Advance Women’s Economic & Political Security. Al Marri emphasised that Gender Equality (SDG 5) is crucial to achieving other SDGs and building a sustainable society. The protection of women's rights to security and safety is a fundamental part of ensuring gender equality.

Al Marri's Council is developing a Policy Note on Preventing and Addressing Gender-based Violence to Advance Women's Economic & Political Security. “Gender-based violence remains a global challenge, and the workshop aims to discuss the challenges and barriers to women's security and identify emerging threats," Al Marri said, stressing the importance of learning from each other and gathering input to ensure the project is a helpful global tool.

The Council hosted a workshop to discuss the challenges limiting women's security, and the input gathered will be essential in developing the policy guideline. Elena Siegel, a member of the Council, who led the workshop, said that the Global Council on SDG 5 aims to develop a policy guideline this year to reduce Gender-Based Violence, a global issue. “Today's workshop brought together a diverse group of local and international thought leaders, with rich insights to focus on areas like online harassment and violence. A virtual consultation will be held in March to further build out the guideline,” she noted.

Members of the Global Council on SDG 5 come from the Inter-parliamentary Union, UPS, Kearney, Standard Chartered Bank, and the UAE Ministry of Economy.

Participants collaborated during the interactive workshop to identify key focus areas for a crucial initiative aimed at recognising policy gaps and opportunities related to preventing and addressing gender-based violence, to enhance women’s economic and political stability.

The workshop discussed current effective programmes and gaps in gender-based violence policies worldwide, and focused on addressing violence in domains outside the home, including online harassment and financial abuse. The participants discussed measures to educate and raise awareness, provide access to justice, support for survivors and their dependents, and installing measurement tools. The UAE Gender Balance Council aims to establish the UAE's leadership and influence in gender balance and increase women's representation in leadership and the economy. At the World Government Summit 2023, participants from the government, private sectors, and international organisations with expertise in gender policies are discussing opportunities for progress in gender balance and women's participation in government locally and globally to accelerate progress towards SDG 5.