UAE company boards must appoint at least one woman

• Ministry of Economy regulation
• Directors need to increase diversity
• Resolution in effect from January

Private joint-stock companies in the UAE will have to appoint at least one woman to their board of directors starting from January next year, the Ministry of Economy has announced.

The decision is part of the UAE’s efforts to enhance diversity in the corporate sector and increase women’s representation in leadership and decision-making roles.

Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, the UAE minister of economy, said in a statement that the latest resolution is designed to strengthen global competitiveness.

“This decision will bring added value to private joint-stock companies, enhancing their institutional performance by drawing on the insights and experiences of successful businesswomen in the country,” he said. 

The resolution builds on a previous initiative applied to public joint-stock companies, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

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In 2021 the Board of the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority told public joint stock companies listed on Abu Dhabi and Dubai stock markets that they must have at least one female board member. 

Mona Ghanem Al Marri, vice president of the UAE Gender Balance Council, called the decision a transformative step that will contribute to economic growth. 

The UAE ranked seventh globally and first regionally in the 2024 Gender Inequality Index. 

Despite these efforts, progress is still considered slow by advocates for gender equality in corporate leadership.

As of January 2024 women held less than 11 percent of the total board seats in publicly listed companies in the UAE and 5 percent in the GCC according to a report by Heriot-Watt University and Aurora50.