Arabian Business: How Aurora50 is supporting female representation on boards

The UAE leadership understands the link between the representation of women in organisations and better financial results, Aurora50 co-founder Diana Wilde said in an interview with Arabian Business.

“This again is a very clear signal to the market that the government here completely understands the value that comes from having more female representation on the board and the importance of diversity at the board level,” she told the UAE-based magazine and site.

“This is obviously very much driven by a business perspective and to ensure that we have a resilient and growing economy.

“We see the UAE’s quota as a positive thing which gives us, and companies, the opportunity to really look at the nominations process.” Diana Wilde, Aurora50 co-founder

“This is why there is so much drive to create this change to make sure we are creating these resilient and high-performance boards, because it will have a dramatic impact on the GDP for the country.”

The Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (ESCA) has announced a quota of one woman per UAE listed board by 2025, and Ms Wilde said quotas worked well when they “coincide with the ambition of leadership”.

“We see the UAE’s quota as a positive thing which gives us, and companies, the opportunity to really look at the nominations process.”

Private-sector companies that are not listed do not need to meet the quota but Ms Wilde said there were worldwide examples of diversity benefitting them. This should be a drive for businesses to increase the number of women on boards and within their C-suite,” she added.