Women in the UAE get judged on their merits

The new Forbes Middle East 200 Most Powerful Arab Women list sheds light on UAE women’s remarkable achievements

Raja Easa Al Gurg, the managing director of UAE-based Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, has topped Forbes’ list of the most powerful businesswomen in the region. Amy Leang / The National

The latest Forbes Most Powerful Arab Women list sheds light on achievements by talented Emiratis

The UAE has come a long way in a short time when it comes to empowering women, as the latest Forbes Middle East 200 Most Powerful Arab Women list demonstrates. The Emirates is not just the location of the most powerful Arab women in government but also – and arguably more importantly – the most powerful businesswoman in the region.

As The National reported yesterday, a total of 26 Emirati women were featured on this year's list, providing international recognition for the way in which Emirati women are both representing a cultural shift in attitudes towards women's roles and also bolstering it.

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the UAE's redoutable Minister for International Cooperation and Development, needs little introduction after a glittering career in which she became the country's first female minister in 2004. She is currently ranked as the 55th most powerful woman in the world.

Less well known is Raja Easa Al Gurg, the managing director of UAE-based Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, who topped Forbes’ list of the most powerful businesswomen in the region. She is just one of several women – such as Fatima Al Jaber, chief operating officer of the Al Jaber Group, and Amna Bin-Hendi, chief executive of Bin-Hendi Enterprises – to run major corporations in the UAE.

There is an important distinction to be drawn between these two categories. Sheikha Lubna is clearly a woman of substance and ability, but she was appointed to her position by a government that recognised the importance of women’s contributions to civil society and fostered their promotion to the highest level.

Mrs Al Gurg, Ms Al Jaber and Ms Bin-Hendi and their peers have managed to make it to the top through the rough and tumble of the corporate world, albeit through family-owned companies. If there is an element of affirmative action to Sheikha Lubna’s appointment – a decision clearly vindicated by her performance – the corporate world works far more on a policy of fierce meritocracy.

The fact that Emirati women have succeeded in the very different fields of government and business stands as a real testament to the way their skills are being harnessed by UAE society. Importantly, it also shows other women on their way up the career path that it can be done, ensuring the next generation will reach even higher.