Led by the School of Business Administration (SBA), American University of Sharjah (AUS) recently became the 50th UAE signatory to the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles. The signing took place during the university’s recent participation in the launching of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact UAE Women’s Empowerment Principles Taskforce, hosted by the Dubai Land Department and CTG Global.

SBA, which became a member of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in 2015 and sits on the Steering Committee of the UNGC Local Network for the United Arab Emirates, is also an Advanced Signatory of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) and co-chair of PRME's Business for Peace Working Group.

The United Nations Global Compact and Empowerment of Women presented seven steps that businesses and other sectors can take to advance and empower women. These include establishing high-level corporate leadership for gender equality, treating all women and men fairly at work – respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination, ensuring the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers. It also seeks to promote education, training and professional development for women, implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women, promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy, and measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality.