President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has decided to introduce the ‘Gender Equality Seal’ to encourage gender equality in institutions.

The President made this decision, following discussions on a paper submitted by the Ministry of Social and Family Development during Sunday's Cabinet meeting.

The ‘Gender Equality Seal’ is a nationally developed system that encourages gender equality in institutions to eliminate economic gender gaps and ensure that the workplace is rife with equal opportunities for both genders. The seal will be awarded to those agencies that have identified core areas and standards of work and achieved these standards while also having achieved success in advocating for gender equality.

With the introduction of this seal, gender equality efforts by government agencies and companies will strengthen, and gender equality work will be mainstreamed at an administrative level in the Maldives under international conventions and the nationally formulated Gender Equality Action Plan (2022–2026).

The basic criteria for the ‘Gender Equality Seal’ include five main elements. These include adopting a gender-neutral approach to recruitment, formulating and implementing policies to prevent and address gender discrimination and sexual harassment, establishing gender-responsive infrastructure, paying equal wages for equal work, and demonstrating gender equality at the decision-making or management level.

The ‘Hafutha 14’ roadmap of President Dr. Muizzu’s Administration also includes the introduction of the ‘Gender Equality Seal’ to promote gender equality in public institutions, private enterprises, and companies.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development is currently undertaking the necessary work to introduce this seal.