Emirati women are no longer just entering the UAE workforce in greater numbers — they are increasingly running parts of it. New figures presented by Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar in February 2026 show women's participation in the UAE labor market rose by more than 101 percent over the five years through the end of 2025, matching the overall growth rate of the national workforce itself.
That overall workforce expansion came alongside a 49 percent rise in skilled labor and a 45 percent increase in the number of companies operating in the country. Within that growth, the number of UAE nationals joining the private sector climbed by around 366 percent over the same five-year period, a shift that reflects sustained government efforts to draw citizens into private employment.
Nafis and the private sector push
Much of that momentum has run through the Nafis program, which supports Emiratis moving into private-sector jobs. By the end of March 2026, more than 176,000 Emiratis had been employed with the program's support, with around 152,000 currently working across 32,000 establishments. Women made up 74 percent of all Nafis beneficiaries in the private sector, a figure that points to where much of the recent hiring growth has concentrated.
Private healthcare offers a clear example. By the end of 2025, more than 8,800 Emiratis were working in the sector, and women accounted for 82 percent of them.
From numbers to leadership
Participation figures tell only part of the story. According to the UAE Gender Balance Council, 33.8 percent of women in the UAE workforce now hold leadership roles, and 46 percent of female employees are classified as skilled. Women also represent 28 percent of all skilled workers in the UAE, a signal that their presence in higher-value roles is growing alongside overall employment numbers.
Efforts to formalize this shift toward leadership are already underway through the SDG 5 Pledge, launched in 2022, in which participating companies commit to raising women's representation in middle and senior leadership positions to 30 percent. By May 2025, 71 organizations across different industries had signed on.
H.E. Aisha Hasan Almarzooqi, speaking on the shift from participation to influence, said: "The focus today is not simply on representation, but on ensuring that future leaders have opportunities to develop the skills, experience and strategic perspective needed to lead organisations through a period of rapid technological and economic change."
She pointed to the importance of workplace culture in building that leadership pipeline: "We encourage a culture of continuous learning, bold thinking and pushing the boundaries of technology to improve how people experience government services. Creating environments where individuals are empowered to experiment, take ownership and contribute new ideas helps develop the confidence and capabilities needed for senior leadership roles."
Almarzooqi framed the payoff as one that extends beyond any single organization: "That approach benefits individuals, organisations and the wider economy alike."