Welcome to our final post of 2024, a year filled with remarkable events and initiatives that have left a lasting impact. As we reflect on our achievements, we’re excited to share a timeline of our journey, and the gift of a free regional and international DEI awareness days calendar to support your HR planning.
We opened 2024 with an amazingly strong quarter for members of our NOORA corporate women’s network: an AI workshop, webinars on social engagement and adaptive leadership, visits to Emirates Group headquarters and EGA’s Al Taweelah refinery, and an iftar graciously hosted by HH Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan at the Palace of HH Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan.
As the world celebrated International Women’s Day in March, Aurora50 worked with two clients, Dubai International Financia Centre (DIFC) and LVMH, on events. With LVMH, we ran an event on supporting women’s career progression and achieving greater work-life balance, with speakers including: Miglena Zivkovic, MENA General Manager for Make Up For Ever, LVMH; and Captain Nouf Omar, Emirates Airline’s youngest female pilot.
And with DIFC we co-hosted the Global Women Symposium: Alya Al Zarouni, Chief Operating Officer, DIFC Authority, made the opening address, followed by a fireside chat with Dame Susan Rice, the first woman to head a UK clearing bank, and panel discussions on gender diversity challenges in finance, the power of mentorship for the next generation of female finance leaders and best practices for inclusive financial cultures.
Aurora50 was also proud to announce that it had been certified as a social enterprise by Ma’an, the Abu Dhabi Authority of Social Contribution. This does not mean we are a charity but, rather, that we have a mission to address social challenges and create social impact by nurturing inclusive leaders and empowering women in the workplace and by reallocating 51 percent of profits back into the business.
In April Aurora50 partnered with ADDC (rebranding as TAQA Distribution from January) to run our AIM (Accelerator for Internal Management) programme, empowering 13 high-potential women to navigate their career paths and prepare for leadership roles.
Over six weeks, the programme combined interactive workshops, reflective assignments and personalised coaching to help participants build a growth mindset, refine their value propositions and develop effective communication strategies. The initiative received outstanding feedback, with participants expressing increased confidence in their career progression and leadership capabilities.
We also collaborated with Heriot-Watt University Dubai to release the inaugural GCC Board Gender Index Report 2024 in April. The only authoritative, cross-GCC report of its kind, it revealed that women hold five percent of GCC board seats and 10.8 percent in the UAE, the leader for women on boards. You can download the report for free.
NOORA members enjoyed workshops in May on decarbonisation and upskilling in career mapping and public speaking in June.
In July we celebrated the first anniversary of the NOORA network. Between the 40 industry leaders who visited and spoke, and the 286 attendees, NOORA facilitated some 1,670 connections in its first year, and we matched 16 members with executive-level mentors.
Member Shruti Kapoor, Vice President, IT Product & Delivery – Web & Mobile, Emirates Group, says she found “highly accomplished” and “like-minded” women to “live, laugh and learn with” in the first cohort of the community.
We also ran a webinar on managing your digital footprint (particularly leveraging LinkedIn) for NOORA members, which we will repeat early in 2025.
In Q3 we said goodbye to the first cohort from NOORA and opened the doors to the second. We thank the steering committee – senior leaders from our founding partners – for shaping the strategic direction of the network in its first year: Sergey Akhmetov, EVP Midstream, EGA; Noora Al Qemzi, Deputy GHR Director, ENOC; Hend Al Rumaithi, Senior Director Group Internal Audit, ENOC; Jowaher Alsuwaidi, former Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, TAQA; Stephen Austin, VP Production, Al Taweelah Alumina Refinery, EGA; Nadya Kamali, Country Managing Director – UAE, Accenture; and Valerie Tan, SVP Corporate Communications, CSR & Media Affairs, Emirates.
As part of our efforts to inspire and empower future Emirati women, we partnered with AADC for Emirati Women’s Day, hosting an engaging session titled ‘From Support to Empowerment, Inspiring Future Emirati Women.’ The session featured thought-provoking discussions, including personal reflections on career journeys, overcoming self-doubt, and advice for young women aspiring to leadership roles, leaving participants inspired to shape their paths with confidence and purpose.
The final three months of 2024 have been busy and highly successful for Aurora50.
We ran NOORA workshops on network-building in October and on career growth, overcoming burnout and building effective workplace relationships in November, with a site visit to Noor solar park in December.
We also became host and secretariat to the UAE chapter of Chapter Zero in October. Chapter Zero UAE is an initiative dedicated to equipping board directors with the knowledge and tools to address climate governance. Our co-founder, HH Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan Al Nahyan, serves as Chair of the Advisory Board. You can find out more about applying to become a member as a board director at https://chapterzerouae.com/.
The same month, Aurora50 welcomed a cohort of 50 visionary women visiting from NEOM in Saudi Arabia. This inspiring business networking and cultural exchange day, hosted by our co-founder, HH Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with Transform, highlighted the power of connection and shared purpose. They engaged in meaningful connections and dialogue with women leaders from Aramex, Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (ADDC), Accenture, Bloomberg, Chalhoub Group, The Emirates Group, M42, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), TAQA and the World Economic Forum.
In November we held the amazing three-day Inclusive Workplaces Summit at Zayed Higher Organization in Abu Dhabi, where some 280 attendees learned how to make workplaces more inclusive for both people of determination and for their families and carers as employees.
HH Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan said: “Together we share the responsibility to create workplaces and societies where everyone, inclusive of all abilities, can thrive and contribute meaningfully.”
Find out more about the amazing Inclusive Workplaces Summit with all our coverage in blog posts.
Last – and most certainly not least – we established the Aurora50 Advisory Council. Members are: HE Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, HE Dr Maryam Al Suwaidi, Elissar Antonios and Professor Dame Heather McGregor. These formidable women will meet HH Sheikha Shamma and the Aurora50 team quarterly and serve as advocates, advisors and ambassadors to advancing diversity and inclusion in workplaces across the UAE and beyond.
Together, their wealth of experience, strategic insight, and advocacy will play a pivotal role in supporting Aurora50’s mission and initiatives, such as NOORA, Pathway20 and our DEI consultancy. We look forward to achieving even greater impact with their guidance and support.
We thank our esteemed clients for uniting with us for greater impact in 2024: AADC; ADDC; Accenture; ADNOC; Aldar; Aramex; Bulgari; CBI; Clyde & Co; DIFC; Du; EGA; Emirates Group; Emirates Nature WWF; ENOC; FAB; Hadef & Partners; M42; Ma’an; Masdar; Mubadala; NMC; TAQA; Topland; and Zayed Higher Organization.
True progress is a symphony, not a solo performance.
We also thank the partners who have tirelessly worked with us this year to transform the future of work: Al Noor; Best Buddies; The Butterfly; Elite Private School; Heriot-Watt University Dubai; Heroes of Hope; Higher Colleges of Technology; Hult; Incluzun; ISD Padel; Purple Tuesday; Securities and Commodities Authority; Sedra; Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi; and University of Birmingham Dubai.
In January we will run the first upskilling workshop of the year for NOORA members on social capital, complimented by a webinar on tips and tricks on using LinkedIn to grow your personal brand and reputation online.
NOORA members can expect two further upskilling workshops before the summer and we will be repeating our flagship networking event, Iftar at the Palace. Plus we’re in the final stages of setting up two more company site visits, so stay tuned for more information on that in 2025. We welcome more corporate members – find out about our membership.
In autumn 2024, the UAE Ministry of Economy announced a new board quota for the hundreds of private joint stock companies in the UAE, who must put a women on their board after the completion of the board’s current term from January onwards. We hope to see many of these PJSCs joining Pathway20’s first 2025 cohort, which runs for 12 weeks from April to June.
You can find out more about applying for the Pathway20 board accelerator programme, as a corporate package or as an individual.
In its role as host and secretariat of the UAE chapter of Chapter Zero, we will be running a roundtable event for select board directors on Climate Impact at the Board: Aligning Governance with Sustainability on 16 January, in partnership with Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. You can find out more about applying to become a member of Chapter Zero.
We will be releasing the second edition of the GCC Board Gender Index Report with Heriot-Watt University Dubai in April 2025 and invite interested organisations to contact us about sponsoring the report (choose the option sponsor an Aurora50 DEI event or initiative’).
We’re also primed and ready to run an Accelerator for Internal Management (AIM) programme for you at any time. AIM empowers women to take charge of their career progression. We provide tools, training and support to break down barriers and build leadership competencies. Together, we map out a clear path for success, boosting confidence and leveraging social capital for personal and organisational growth.
We also offer bespoke services and research tailored to your specific needs. Contact us to chat about your organisation’s needs.
You can keep up to date with our events calendar as we release new dates.
Ally with us in 2025 as we continue to transform workplaces, empower women and create a more inclusive world.
Plan to make 2025 inclusive with this free calendar that maps significant inclusion holidays, both in the GCC and internationally, month by month.
Our calendar lists all the key dates for diversity and inclusion awareness – from the International Girls in ICT Day and the World Autism Awareness Day to World Youth Skills Day and the International Days of Older Persons and Persons with Disabilities, as well as regional dates of importance such as the new Emirati Day of Education and the GCC’s national days such as Eid Al Etihad.
As always, we look forward to celebrating International Women’s Day (March) and Emirati Women’s Day (August) – get in touch to find out about partnering with us for any events you would like to run (choose the option ‘create/ execute a DEI strategy for my organisation’), as LVMH and DIFC did this year.
Related: 2023 – Aurora50’s Officially Amazing year in review | Celebrating 2022 with Aurora50
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