The UAE’s continued efforts to improve gender diversity in the boardroom have led to more women holding board positions this year (8.9 percent), up from 3.5 percent in 2020, according to research undertaken by Aurora50, a social enterprise working towards gender parity in GCC boardrooms, and Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG).
The report, ‘Non-executive Board Careers in the UAE: A Path to Gender Balance,’ which was sponsored by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), reveals that 77 of the 868 board seats from the 115 listed companies on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), are now held by women.
This represents 8.9 percent representation of women in UAE boardrooms, up from 3.5 percent in 2020, according to the research findings by Aurora50 in its report which was released on Thursday.
The boost to women on boards in the UAE follows the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) setting a quota last year mandating all listed companies in the UAE to appoint at least one woman to their boards.
In a first-of-its-kind study undertaken in the GCC, the report interviewed 16 women with independent board directorships to understand key steps that aspiring women board directors can proactively take throughout their careers to reach non-executive board roles.
The UAE-based Aurora50 was co-founded by Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan and Diana Wilde in 2020.
Aurora50’s first -- successful -- initiative is to increase the number of women on boards in the UAE through the Pathway20 accelerator program. They have now expanded their focus to support listed corporations, large private organizations and high-growth businesses alike with all their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) objectives.
Now, UAE companies continue to find talented women as board directors to ensure aspiring women are appointed to their first non-executive board director in 10-15 years or less.
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