GCC countries continue to see growth in the representation of women on public company boards, with the UAE topping the list at 14.8 percent, accounting for 185 out of 1,248 board seats, compared to 10.8 percent in 2024, marking a 37 percent increase.
Heriot-Watt University and Aurora50 released today the ‘GCC Board Gender Index Report 2025‘, revealing that, as of January 2025, women’s board representation in the GCC increased to 6.8 percent, up from 5.2 percent in 2024, or 379 out of 5,535 board seats across 729 public companies in the region.
Bahrain reports second-highest percentage of women on boards
The UAE’s significant growth from 2024 reflects a growing recognition among publicly listed companies of the importance of gender parity in boardrooms. The report also revealed that since 2024, Bahrain has surpassed Oman as the GCC country with the second-highest percentage of women on boards.
Country-wise, the percentage of board positions held by women at publicly listed companies across the GCC is as follows:
- UAE: 14.8 percent (185 of 1,248 seats)
- Bahrain: 8.5 percent (30 of 353 seats)
- Oman: 6.6 percent (56 of 849 seats)
- Kuwait: 5.5 percent (52 of 946 seats)
- Saudi Arabia: 2.9 percent (53 of 1,809 seats)
- Qatar: 2.8 percent (13 of 459 seats)
“When Aurora50 launched in 2020 with its vision of gender parity on corporate boards, only 3.5 percent of UAE board seats were held by women. As we mark our fifth anniversary, it is promising to see that figure rise over fourfold (to 14.8 percent) and to almost 7 percent across the region, highlighting the impact of our collective efforts,” stated H.H. Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Director of Aurora50.
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UAE emerges as a global leader in gender balance
Sheikha Shamma added that tracking this progress is key to creating and bolstering a strong pipeline of female talent at every level.
“In line with the vision of the UAE’s leadership, Aurora50 is committed to paving clear paths for women to step into board positions, ensuring fundamentally diverse and balanced gender representation in our nation’s organisations. This dramatic shift in just five years reaffirms the UAE’s role as a global leader in gender balance,” she added.
For her part, Provost and Vice Principal of Heriot-Watt University Dubai, Professor Dame Heather McGregor, said, “Since moving to the UAE in 2022, I have continued my work in research into gender balance on public company boards, with a focus on the GCC region. The progress we are seeing is promising; the year-on-year increase in women’s board representation signals real momentum. Although there is a lot of work to be done, the UAE has shown significant progress, which is a key step towards gender parity on boards.”
Earlier this year, Her Excellency Mona Ghanem Al Marri, vice president of the UAE Gender Balance Council, said that the UAE’s recognition as a global leader in gender balance is the result of deliberate policies, strategic initiatives and impactful partnerships. “These achievements did not happen by chance but through a well-defined vision,” she stated.
During the World Governments Summit (WGS) 2025’s Gender Balance Forum, Al Marri noted that women now hold one-third of ministerial positions in the UAE government and 50 percent of seats in the Federal National Council. Additionally, women account for 57 percent of graduates in STEM fields, one of the highest rates worldwide. She added that 46 percent of the national labor force in the government sector consists of women.
