BrazilUAE businesses consider inclusive leadership a social and strategic advantage
Gender equality is high on the agenda in the UAE. Nearly 40% of investors in the UAE now see female representation as a determining factor when considering committing capital and over 70% of companies request data on gender quotas during procurement processes.
Times are changing in the GCC region – and have been for a long time already. Gender equality is now quickly becoming the norm, and the UAE might be leading the way in female representation in business.
A new report by Grant Thornton highlights the increasing representation of women in senior management roles across the UAE, marking this trend as a growing competitive advantage for businesses. The report builds on 21 years of global data and six years of UAE-specific insights, revealing notable progress in female leadership, particularly in finance, operations, and marketing roles.
“Gender diversity has become both a social commitment and a strategic advantage; it is a strategic necessity for companies that want to thrive in the UAE’s competitive and fast-evolving economy,” said Hisham Farouk, CEO of Grant Thornton in the UAE.
The study emphasizes that this rise in female representation is not merely a social objective but a crucial part of any business that hopes to thrive. That is because UAE companies with diverse leadership teams are better positioned to secure government contracts, attract global investors focused on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors, and appeal to top talent across different generations.
Besides that, a significant majority of UAE businesses report that clients and procurement teams now request gender diversity data when evaluating potential suppliers, underscoring the growing importance of diverse leadership in business development.
Women in the top
There has been a record increase of 200% in women’s representation on the boards of listed public joint-stock companies in the past three years. In 2024, women held 141 seats in boardrooms compared to only 47 seats in 2021.
But it is not just the private sector: Government-led initiatives have also had a significant impact. For example, there is a mandate for women to hold at least 20% of board seats, which has resulted in a substantial increase in female board representation.
In 2019, The Central Bank of the UAE released new Corporate Governance Regulations which mandate that at least 20% of candidates of the board member nomination process considered must be female. Among the 37 ministers of the UAE government, nine were women in 2024.
It is all part of modernization: the UAE’s quick economic growth has been matched with rapid social progress. Gender diversity is now part of the country’s DNA. For example, about 20% of businesses surveyed by Grant Thornton reported that government departments requested gender diversity data over the past year. This aligns with the UAE Vision 2030 agenda.
Diversity reporting is no longer confined to corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports – it is becoming a performance metric directly tied to revenue generation. A healthy and sustainable company is a future-proof company.
“It’s not about representation for the sake of representation. When we see diverse boards, it’s not just good optics – it’s good governance. Diverse perspectives make better businesses” said George Stoyanov, partner hand ead of markets at Grant Thornton in the UAE.
The trend of inclusive leadership has been apparent for several years now in the UAE. A previous report from last year found that close to one third of new board appointments in UAE companies were female leaders.
