Arab News: Experts examine successes, challenges of UAE female leadership

Arab News reported on an event held by The Emirates Society, a group dedicated to promoting relations between the UAE and the UK. It recently hosted a seminar to examine the successes and challenges of women leadership in the UAE, attended by Aurora50’s Diana Wilde.

Ms Wilde told the event progress was being made in some of the “very largest, most influential companies”, which understood the “value of diversity of thought quite early on”.

This was not a “reflection” of all UAE organisations, though, and needed to “trickle down” into smaller companies too, she said.

“Even within these big companies, the reality is we need to have a much larger women pipeline for filling these C-suite roles,” she added.

Ms Wilde also called for support structures that addressed the social challenges faced by women, such as family pressures.

She said: “If people are falling out of the system, for reasons not to do with their capabilities or skills, then we do not have the very best talent to choose from.”

Fatema Al-Nuaimi, executive vice president of downstream business management at ADNOC, a client of Aurora50, told delegates that gender balance in the workplace was critical to maximising the success of a business.

She said: “When you have more diversity within your team, this is when you get the best out of the talent that you have.”

In 2016, ADNOC implemented a gender balance strategy and has since doubled number of women in leadership positions throughout ADNOC.