SCA announces 200% growth in women on listed boards in 3 years

The number of women on the boards of listed UAE companies has grown 200 percent since 2021, the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) has announced.

A total of 141 female board directors held seats at the UAE’s listed public joint stock companies (PJSCs) as of December 2024, the SCA data showed.

The inaugural GCC Board Gender Index – published by Heriot-Watt University Dubai and Aurora50 – showed that, in January 2024, 10.8 percent of UAE listed board positions were held by women (133 of 1,231 seats at 168 companies on ADX and DFM). [Download the GCC Board Index Report 2024 for free (form leads to PDF)]

UAE quota ‘pivotal’ to growth in women on boards

Across the GCC, women held 5.2 percent of all listed company board seats in 2024, with the UAE leading the charge. The GCC Board Gender Index Report 2025 will be released in April.

[Related: Women chair audit committees of 13.3% of UAE listed companies]

The SCA set a 2021 quota of at least one woman board director for each PJSC listed in the UAE – either at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) or Dubai Financial Market (DFM), both of which are overseen by the SCA.

In 2025 that quota has been extended to the UAE’s several hundred private joint stock companies (PrJSCs) too.

HE Dr Mariam Butti Al Suwaidi, CEO of the Securities and Commodities Authority and a member of Aurora50’s Advisory Council, said the 2021 quota played a “pivotal role in achieving this remarkable achievement”.

Women on boards ‘enhance quality of strategic decisions’

The SCA is committed to adopting best global practices in corporate governance, in line with its “ambitious vision” to diversify leadership and enhance “women’s presence in decision-making positions”, she added.

Gender balance on boards enhances the quality of strategic decisions and ensures “maximum benefit” from all available competencies and skills, HE Dr Mariam said.

She called on companies to continue their efforts to provide more opportunities for women to assume leadership positions.

Commenting on the news, HH Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Co-founder of Aurora50, said: “It is a great honour to witness this remarkable achievement, which is a testament to the UAE’s unwavering commitment to promoting gender balance and encouraging female leadership in key sectors.

UAE ‘a global leader in gender balance’

“The collaboration between Aurora50 and the SCA has been pivotal in driving this transformation. Through our shared vision, we have worked hard to create opportunities, develop leadership capabilities and pave clear paths for women to take their rightful place on boards.

“The signing of the MoU in 2020 laid the foundation for this success, underscoring the power of national partnerships in achieving development goals.

“This is just the beginning of our journey. As we celebrate this significant achievement, we reaffirm our commitment to enhancing diversity on boards, improving corporate governance and strengthening the UAE’s position as a global leader in gender balance.”