ministries and government agencies to achieve the principle of equal opportunities among all employees, in cooperation and coordination with the Supreme Council for Women. The number of equal opportunities committees in the ministries and official institutions amounted to (44) public committees. 3.4 In view of the seriousness of the inequality issue and the increasing severity of inequality at the economic level of individuals, as it constitutes a threat to social and economic development in the long run, the government has paid great attention to this aspect by taking steps towards achieving Goal No. )10( of the Sustainable Development Goals (2030), which states: (reducing inequality within and between countries) with a view to reducing unequal income distribution by reducing disparities and inequality in wages among individuals. 3.5 In this regard, the Government, represented by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, in cooperation with the Labor Fund (Tamkeen), has improved the salaries of 5000 Bahraini nationals. It increased the salaries of university graduates to BHD 450 and non-university graduates to BHD 300. It targets increasing the wages of 6000 university graduates recorded in the Ministry’s lists. This would improve the standards of living and combat poverty. 3.6 In a remarkable step and to achieve economic empowerment that reduces inequality, the Family Bank of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development has been established to provide distinct preventive development services to all members of the Bahraini families to activate the family role in addressing contemporary challenges and issues. The Family Bank is concerned, inter alia, with the empowerment of low-income individuals and families “Additional Information” Parallel Report of the National Institution for Human Rights in the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) © 2022 12

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