Emirati environmental genius Maryam Al-Memari a model of women's empowerment

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

A 25-year-old Emirati environmental researcher-scientist is elevating the role of women in marine biosphere.

She is Maryam Al-Memari who believes that provided with a robust understanding of environment, the proposals of these women would be more 'culturally and contextually relevant'. 

The first recipient of the New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD)-Dolphin Energy Kawader Fellow is into a 'multi-faceted research,' who tests 'eco-friendly antifouling coatings to protect marine infrastructure, reduce marine pollution, and examine historical trends of desalination and their environmental impacts in the Arabian region'.

“Most significantly, I examine coastal development implications in the Gulf countries, including perspectives of regional female reef scientists to bridge gender gaps in the field,” Al-Memari told Gulf Today.

Among the 3.34 million Emirati women in the country, Al-Memari was interviewed in connection to the ninth observation of the August 28 'Emirati Women’s Day'.

The theme for this year is 'We Share for Tomorrow', under the directives of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Mother of the Nation and Wife of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founder of the United Arab Emirates.

The Mubadala Investment Company-owned Dolphin Energy gas enterprise was founded by the Government of Abu Dhabi in 1999. Its fellowship programme with the NYUAD was formally signed three months back by Dolphin Energy Chief Executive Officer Obaid Abdulla Al Dhaheri and NYUAD Vice Chancellor Mariet Westermann.

The three-year programme is a 'unique national capacity-building model' in order that 'outstanding Emirati graduates into research and who want to grow in their research profession', are provided with the experience in a 'cutting-edge academic research environment'.

Through her fellowship, Al-Memari anticipates the actualisation of the recommendations from the research – 'The Growing Role of Women in Coral Reef Research in the Gulf Cooperating Council'. Her co-authors are Marine Biology Lab research fellow Amal Al-Gergawi, Lab manager Grace Vaughan, and Biology Associate Professor John Burt.

She is excited on the wealth of knowledge and perceptiveness she would gain from being a NYUAD-Centre for Interacting Urban Network research assistant until 2027/2028, under the supervision of Burt, the Mideast Coral Reef Society chairman/International Coral Reef Society member, who has been investigating the Arabian Gulf 'to understand how marine organisms respond to and cope with extreme environmental conditions and to provide insights into the potential impacts of future climate change on marine systems across the tropics'.

The four enumerated five recommendations for conservation research, management and policy, inasmuch as according to Al-Memari, of the 852 reef-related publications they had reviewed, 350 (53 per cent) have men authors: “The first female author in the GCC reef-related literature emerged in 1985. Despite the increasing inclusion of published female reef scientists in the region, a ratio of 1:3 women to men were observed, with most females positioned as middle authors, signaling a salient gender gap.”

“The under-representation of women in marine science and governance has been pervasive amid rising fears it could undermine capacities to address pressing conservation concerns,” she added.

The recommendations: promotion of marine science and conservation as a feasible and locally-relevant career beginning from basic education; more research funding, capacity-building training, and leadership opportunities for gender transformative development, especially early career female researchers at public institutions; enactment of blind screening of applicant names, biological gender, and ethnicity to prevent unconscious bias among recruiters, editors, and peer-reviewers; advancement of flexible working conditions at social and organisational levels, particularly in relation to maternity and paternity leave, childcare facilities on site, mandatory staff training on safe inclusive work spaces, and anonymous channels to hold transgressors accountable; and broadening metrics for academic excellence to include societal impact-driven metrics.   

Al-Memari said: “As an Emirati woman, I believe that our journeys as local female researchers not only reflects the wide-ranging struggle for gender equity but also embodies the potential future where our voices and expertise are central to shaping impactful and sustainable solutions in marine science.”

“It is of paramount importance that marine conservation research and practice in Arabia fosters greater inclusive indigenous representation for a more sustainable future. Emirati women have the potential to bring invaluable local talent and learnings for addressing regional marine conservation challenges. Their solutions would be more culturally and contextually relevant,” she also said.