Women hold 15 per cent of board seats on UAE-listed companies – more than twice the GCC-wide figure of 7 per cent – according to a new report.
The GCC Board Gender Index, published on Tuesday by Heriot-Watt University Dubai and the diversity agency Aurora50, shows slow but steady progress across the region. The proportion of seats held by women rose from 6.9 per cent in 2025 to 7 per cent this year. In total, 341 women now hold 403 board positions across the GCC, up from 334 women and 390 seats last year.
The UAE's lead is pronounced. Women fill 191 of the country's 1,274 listed-company board seats – a rate of 15 per cent, up from 14.7 per cent in 2025 and just 3.5 per cent in 2020. Behind the UAE, Bahrain ranks second at 10.5 per cent, followed by Oman at 7 per cent. Kuwait sits at 5.6 per cent, while Qatar and Saudi Arabia trail significantly, at 3.2 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively.
For the first time, the report also introduced sector-level analysis, breaking down representation across 12 industries in all six GCC countries. The financial services sector accounts for the highest number of female board seats across the GCC.
In the UAE, women hold 86 of 564 positions in financial services, followed by the industrial sector with 35 of 214. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are the only GCC countries where women hold board positions across every sector.
Professor Dame Heather McGregor, provost and vice principal of Heriot-Watt University Dubai, said legislation has been the critical turning point in the rise locally.
“The UAE's progress has been driven clearly by early, decisive legislation,” she told The National. “The 2021 mandate requiring women on boards created a structural shift almost overnight … when the rest of the world was still worrying about the pandemic, the UAE had the foresight to do something about gender representation.”
There is also a consistent message from leadership championing women in positions of authority, added Prof McGregor. “That combination of policy and cultural endorsement is what makes the difference.”
Progress slow but real
The findings resonate with those operating inside UAE boardrooms. Tatiana Laudati, founder of TLA Marketing Consulting and a board member at the Middle East Social Media and Digital Association, said the numbers broadly reflect her own experience.
“Progress in the UAE is real and visible, particularly in regulated sectors and internationally exposed organisations,” she told The National. “There are more women in boardrooms today than five years ago, which is an encouraging shift.”
But she is also quick to emphasise that the issues start lower down than board level. “The pipeline into leadership is still uneven,” she said. “Women are present and performing at mid to senior levels, but the step into executive roles – and then into boards – isn't structured in a consistent way. It still depends heavily on visibility, sponsorship and access to the right networks, rather than a clear, merit-based pathway.”
The pace of progress across the wider region also remains a concern, said Ms McGregor. “We are moving in the right direction, although at a rather slow pace. The current increase may seem modest, but it is still progress and that matters,” she said.
“The important point is that the trajectory is positive. That said, if we want to see meaningful change within a reasonable timeframe, we do need to build on this momentum and move faster than we are today.”
Ms Laudati identifies three structural obstacles that cut across the GCC. Board appointments, she said, are still driven largely by informal networks that are historically male-dominated. “There is [also] a persistent preference for repeat profiles – people who've already held board seats – which effectively limits diversification of the talent pool,” she said.
There is also an absence of structured board-readiness pathways and a narrow definition of qualifying experience, Ms Laudati added. “It tends to favour traditional corporate backgrounds, which can unintentionally exclude strong candidates from adjacent sectors, despite their relevance and ability to add real value.”
Diverse voices to strengthen boards
The presence of women in the boardroom goes beyond representation as a metric – and gender diversity changes the decisions that are made “significantly”, said Ms Laudati.
“It changes both the process and the quality of decision-making. There's typically more emphasis on long-term impact, stakeholder balance, and risk – not just short-term outcomes.”
Better boards are not ones that agree quickly, she said. “They're the ones that challenge properly. Gender diversity strengthens that. It leads to more robust decisions, which is ultimately a governance issue, not a social one.”
