UAE Unveils Comprehensive Framework to Advance Women's Empowerment

By: WE staff | Thursday, 21 August 2025

• UAE has implemented an extensive framework for empowering women.
• Areas of focus are bridging gaps, making women more opportunistic, and empowering women for leadership in all fields.
• Such initiatives have enhanced the UAE's competitiveness regionally and internationally.

The UAE has implemented a wide-ranging framework to empower women that centers on overcoming obstacles, increasing opportunities, and enabling women to take on leadership positions in all sectors. This has strengthened the nation's competitiveness both regionally and globally.

Major institutions such as the UAE Gender Balance Council and Dubai Women Establishment, with support from foreign parties, are spearheading efforts to develop Emirati women's leadership and facilitate their appointment to top jobs in both public and private spheres.

Mouza Mohammed Al Ghuwais Al Suwaidi, Secretary-General of the UAE Gender Balance Council, explained to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) that the Council is making efforts to enhance women's engagement in the private sector and improve their representation at leadership levels.

She added that inclusive approaches, created in partnership with major stakeholders, are at the heart of these initiatives.

An increasing number of UAE and global firms have signed the "SDG 5 Pledge to Accelerate Women's Leadership in the UAE Private Sector", pledging to increase women's share in middle and senior management to at least 30 percent by 2025 for the first batch of signatories and 2028 for the second.

UAE Gender Balance Council Strategy 2026 seeks further to narrow gender gaps between sectors, enhance the UAE's ranking on the global gender equality index, and make the country a role model for gender balance law.

For these efforts, the UAE ranked first in the region and 13th in the world for the UNDP's 2025 Gender Inequality Index.

CEO of Dubai Women Establishment, Naeema Ahli, highlighted that the push to promote Emirati women to leadership positions remains a fundamental task.

The institution continues to formulate sophisticated training schemes in collaboration with leading international universities and institutions to enhance leadership capabilities, equip women for top management positions across the world, and improve their confidence in dealing with changing workplace dynamics.