Injeel Moti, Managing Director of Catch CommunicationsEvery August, my feeds flood with beautifully designed posts celebrating Emirati Women’s Day. Brands roll out glossy campaigns, offices share carefully curated graphics, and timelines fill with hashtags about empowerment and progress. It’s a heartening sight but it also raises a question I find myself asking year after year: are we truly celebrating Emirati women, or are we simply performing celebration for the sake of visibility?
Too often, Emirati Women’s Day risks being reduced to a token PR moment. We see the same familiar formula: highlight a handful of high-profile achievers, craft a sleek message, post it on social channels, and move on. While these gestures may look good on the surface, they miss the heart of what this day can and should represent.
Don’t get me wrong, it is important to honour the incredible Emirati women who hold positions of leadership, whether in government, business, or culture. Their achievements break barriers and inspire generations. But when our narratives spotlight only the “exceptional few,” we inadvertently send the message that success looks one-dimensional, that it belongs only to those who reach the top of the ladder.
The truth is that progress is not built by leaders alone. It is shaped just as much if not more by the women whose names may never trend but whose work sustains the fabric of our society. Teachers nurturing classrooms of curious minds. Entrepreneurs quietly building businesses from scratch. Creators giving voice to fresh perspectives. Mothers balancing countless roles with quiet resilience. These stories are no less powerful, and yet they often remain invisible in the glossy campaigns we see.
This gap between intention and execution is where pinkwashing creeps in. Pinkwashing happens when institutions and brands use women’s causes as a surface-level marketing tool — symbolic gestures without meaningful depth or impact.
The reliance on performance metrics (reach, engagement, virality) has created an environment where the appearance of support often outweighs the substance of it. A post may rack up thousands of likes, but what does it mean if the women it claims to celebrate don’t feel genuinely represented? Metrics measure popularity, they don’t measure authenticity.
So how do we move beyond tokenism? The answer lies in partnership and intentional storytelling. Brands and institutions must ask themselves: Who are we amplifying? Whose voices are we putting forward? Do our stories reflect the true spectrum of women’s experiences, or just the polished versions that align with our content calendar?
Imagine if, instead of relying solely on influencers or high-profile figures, brands sought out real women icons from within communities, the small business owners, the cultural custodians, the teachers, the innovators working behind the scenes. Partnering with women who embody values rather than just reach creates stories that resonate far deeper than any viral campaign ever could.
Authentic storytelling also requires listening. It means involving women in shaping the narrative, not just featuring them in it. It’s about co-creation, not extraction. When women see themselves truly reflected in all their diversity, resilience, and humanity, the impact is both immediate and lasting.
Emirati Women’s Day is not about producing content; it’s about producing meaning and meaning isn’t always found in polished visuals or perfect slogans. The most powerful stories are often the raw, unfiltered ones. As communicators, we hold a responsibility to ensure women are not reduced to hashtags, but celebrated as people multifaceted, complex, and real.
To live up to its promise, this day must shift from performance to progress, from chasing virality to building authentic connections. True celebration is measured not in clicks, but in recognition, empowerment, and visibility of women in boardrooms, classrooms, homes, and studios.
So, as the hashtags return this year, we must ask: are we telling stories for the algorithm, or for the women who deserve to be heard? The difference is tokenism versus truth and choosing truth is the only way forward.
By Injeel Moti, Managing Director, Catch Communications
