Manal bint Mohammed: “Women’s representation on boards of directors and in decision-making positions is vital to national economic growth”

Her Highness commends the Securities and Commodities Authority’s decision to make women’s representation on the boards of all listed companies mandatory


Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, President of Dubai Women Establishment, and wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, commended the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority’s decision to make representation of women on boards of directors of listed companies mandatory. Her Highness said this decision is a vital step towards further empowering women in line with international best practices.

Her Highness affirmed that this decision, which is aligned with the UAE’s leadership vision, can bring about wide-ranging positive benefits including enhanced performance of boards and companies, greater national economic growth and increased socio-economic participation of women.

Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum further said: “Increasing women’s representation on boards of directors contributes to achieving the objectives of the UAE Gender Balance Council to narrow the gender gap in all fields and increase women’s representation in leadership and decision-making positions in both public and private sectors.”

Highlighting the fact that the UAE has made significant strides in enhancing women’s representation in decision-making positions, Her Highness said this commitment has led to the country becoming the first in the region to issue binding legislation mandating women’s representation on the boards of government institutions. This was made possible by a decision of the UAE Cabinet, which adopted the “Women on Boards” initiative launched by Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2011.

The steadfast support women have received from the UAE’s leadership and Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF), has made the nation a regional model for gender balance, Her Highness said.

It has also advanced the country's ranking in international indicators and reports. The UAE topped the Middle East and North Africa region rankings in the World Bank’s newly released 2021 ‘Women, Business and the Law’ (WBL) index. The UAE also achieved the 18th ranking globally and maintained its top regional ranking in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2020 Gender Inequality Index (GII) issued last December.

Her Highness noted that the UAE Gender Balance Council organised a virtual training on the “Guide for Women on Boards” as part of the UAE’s efforts to enhance the capacities of women in leadership and decision-making positions. Developed jointly by the Council and the Securities and Commodities Authority, the Guide outlines the benefits that enhancing women’s inclusion on boards of directors will bring in the areas of financial performance, consumer feedback, corporate governance practices, and sustainability.