GCC private firms are excluding women at their own peril

Tuesday marks International Women’s Day. We have been recognising the occasion for decades (more than a century in some advanced nations) and yet, here we are again, repeating our call for parity.

In 2012, the UAE became one of only a handful of countries worldwide to make it compulsory for corporations and government agencies to include women on their boards of directors.

Announcing the historic decision, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said, “women [have] proved themselves in many workplaces and today we want them to have a strong presence in decision-making positions in our institutions”.

Indeed, the UAE government has a stellar record of female inclusion in recent years. All three of the Cabinet’s new ministerial roles announced last month – ministers of happiness, tolerance and youth – were handed to women.

Read more