Miss Universe new rules: wives and mothers to compete for first time in historic change

After more than 70 years, the global Miss Universe pageant is making one of the biggest changes to its selection process.

Starting next year, the annual competition will accept married women and mums.

In an internal memo seen by The National, the organisation says it has always strived to evolve with the times and the latest decision was the natural next step.

"We all believe that women should have agency over their lives and that a human's personal decisions should not be a barrier to their success," the memo said.

The new rules will be effective for the 72nd pageant, to be held in 2023. Preliminary pageants have already taken place for Miss Universe 2022, which will be held later this year.

Previously, only single women, aged between 18 and 28, who have never been married or had children were allowed to apply. It wasn't immediately clear if the age bracket will remain the same.

"The Miss Universe Organisation is always the greatest and most innovative platform of its kind and now it will be more inclusive and welcoming to mothers and married women. For me, this is aligned with what I have been fighting for — breaking stereotypes and unlearning the stigma that the old society has forced on us from many many decades ago," Josh Yugen, chief executive of Yugen Group and the national director of Miss Universe Bahrain tells The National.

Based in New York, Miss Universe Organisation also owns the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants, besides the global Miss Universe pageant.

The contest has been changing with the times. Last year, Miss Universe Bahrain made history by choosing to walk the swimsuit round in fully-covered sportswear.

Manar Nadeem Deyani, then a fashion student living in Dubai, was among 79 contestants who participated at the 2021 pageant. Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu, 21, an actress, was crowned Miss Universe 2021 at the event, held in Eilat in Israel.

One of Sandhu's winning answers at the pageant was when she was asked for her advice to the young women watching her on how to deal with the pressures they face today.

"I think the biggest pressure the youth today is facing is to believe in themselves; to know that you are unique and that [is] what makes you beautiful," she said. "Stop comparing yourselves with others and let’s talk [about] more important things that [are] happening worldwide. I think this is what you need to understand. Come out and speak for yourself because you are the leader of your life, you are the voice of your own. I believed in myself, and that’s why I’m standing here today."

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Miss Universe new rules: wives and mothers to compete for first time in historic change

It is one of the greatest shake-ups in the contest since it launched more than 70 years ago

Miss Universe 2022 beauty queens crowned: Iraq and Lebanon to Thailand — in pictures