In Dubai, the number of men exceeds that of women by more than double

If there seems to be too many men in Dubai in 2019, that's because there is. According to the latest official population data, the number of males in the Emirati city exceeds females by more than double. 

The Dubai Statistics Center's report showed that there were about 2.3 males for every female in Dubai at the end of the first quarter of 2019. The total population in Dubai currently stands at 3.23 million of which 2.256 million are males and the remaining 976,000 are females. 

The city's overall population has experienced an 82 percent increase since 2009, when 1.77 million people resided in Dubai. The male to female ratio has always been in favor of men, as many expat men seek job opportunities in the city, especially in the field of construction. However, the balance has witnessed improvements in the past 10 years. In 2009, there were 3.4 males for every female. 

But that is not to say the UAE hasn't taken steps to empower women in the country. As the late Sheikh Zayed, the founder of the UAE, once famously said:

"The woman is half of the society, any country which pursues development should not leave her in poverty or illiteracy. I am on the woman's side."

The country has been actively working towards gender equality. In 2012, the UAE passed a law calling for mandatory female representation on all boards of government corporations and bodies. It was the first law of its kind in the Arab world. Subsequently, women now hold 66 percent of government jobs in the UAE, 30 percent of which are senior decision-making positions. 

In 2016, the UAE inaugurated a new UN Women Liaison Office to help strengthen UN Women's partnership with the GCC countries and accelerate efforts for gender equality. Additionally, 95 percent of UAE female high school graduates pursue further education at tertiary-level, compared with 80 percent of men.

In December 2018, the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked the UAE as the top country in the Middle East and North Africa for wage equality.

In a historic announcement earlier this year, the UAE's Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship declared that 3,354 children born to Emirati mothers and non-Emirati fathers will receive the country's citizenship. Women in various Arab world countries still cannot pass on their nationalities to their children.