Prime Highlights
- UAE builds a strong framework for women’s empowerment and leadership.
- Gender Balance Council and Dubai Women Establishment are key initiatives.
- Companies pledge to raise women’s share in senior roles to 30% by 2025–2028.
Key Facts:
- UAE ranks 1st regionally and 13th globally in UNDP Gender Inequality Index 2025
- Training programmes prepare Emirati women for senior and international leadership roles.
Background
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as one of the role models in fostering women’s leadership, where a clear framework exists that helps to empower women, reduce barriers to sustainability, as well as create new opportunities among women in various sectors. Such measures have enhanced the UAE’s standing in regional and global markets.
National bodies such as the UAE Gender Balance Council and the Dubai Women Establishment are at the centre of this transformation. They have been actively developing women’s leadership skills and enabling their entry into senior positions in both government and private organisations, in cooperation with global partners.
In an interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Mouza Mohammed Al Ghuwais Al Suwaidi, Secretary-General of the Gender Balance Council, stated that the Council is focused on strengthening women’s participation in the private sector by promoting strategies that foster inclusive and equitable workplaces.
She further noted that a number of companies in the UAE have signed the SDG 5 Pledge, aimed at advancing women’s leadership in the private sector. Under the pledge, the share of women in middle and senior management is to be raised to 30 percent by 2025 for the initial signatories, and by 2028 for the later ones.
The Gender Balance Council Strategy 2026 will aim at further increasing the UAE’s presence in the global gender equality indices, ensuring a balanced representation at leadership levels, and decreasing gaps between genders. The UAE recorded the best performance in the region and ranked 13th in the globe in the 2025 UNDP Gender Inequality Index.
President of Dubai Women Establishment Naeema Ahli says that the promotion of Emirati women into leadership roles is a strong priority. She pointed out that the Establishment is extending specialized training programs with foreign universities and institutions in order to groom leadership and provide a way for international prospects.
According to her, these programmes not only impart the latest leadership knowledge, but they also instil confidence and preparedness of women to assume responsibilities of decision-making in a dynamic workforce.
