Nearly 30 percent of 69 projects awarded AED51m ($14m) funding by the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development in the first quarter of 2013 were managed by female entrepreneurs, the fund’s CEO has revealed.

A five-day conference organised by the Dubai Women's College brought together 100 female students from the UAE and 21 other countries to exchange cultural experiences and enhance leadership skills.

Standard Chartered Bank, one of the UAE’s leading international banks, marked its commitment to gender diversity with the launch of its second Global Women’s Forum.

The forum titled, 'Defining Leadership and Success' will draw over 600 women leaders, businesswomen and opinion leaders. Representing the UAE will also be Azzah Al Sharhan, Director of Emirates National Development Programme.

Emirati women occupy more than 50 per cent of the jobs in the ministries and federal organisations, according to the 2006 Dubai Statistics Centre report that was released on Sunday.

Hundreds of delegates from 60 countries from different sectors including education, government and nongovernmental organisations attended the three-day Conference, which is being organised by Zayed University (ZU), at Madinat Jumeirah.