According to a report published in the UAE, young Emirati women are more likely to enrol in university, and be employed than men. Is this true of youth worldwide?

According to a report published in the UAE, young Emirati women are more likely to enrol in university, and be employed than men. Is this true of youth worldwide?

The results are in.

May 10, 2009 10:32 by Aarti Nagraj

A report published by the General Authority for Youth and Sport in the UAE earlier this month said that young people, especially men, face several challenges for their future development. “The high per capita annual income in the UAE means the country’s youth do not suffer the poverty or hunger experienced in other countries,” the report says. “However, we should focus on some of the negative repercussions on the behavior of youth as a consequence to growing up with wealth and comfort. This includes a rise in obesity and a lack of a sense of self-reliance among youth, especially young men.”

The report also found that men are less likely to enrol in university and more likely to be unemployed than women.

Many respondents to our poll believed that this situation exists among youth worldwide; while 45 percent said that young women are more hardworking and responsible than men, just 1 percent felt that the reverse holds true.

However, more than 33 percent felt that the situation was restricted to Emirati society. According to the report, among unemployed people between the ages of 15 to 22 in the UAE, more than half were male. In contrast, the report states that young Emirati women have benefited significantly from the country’s advancement as they have better access to higher education and employment. It adds that women in university outnumber men by almost three to one, and this figure continues to increase.

But not all of our respondents seem charmed by young women’s initiative and responsibility; around 20 percent said that both men and women are equally lazy.