In the UAE, labour law demands “equal remuneration for work of equal value”.
The Labour Code prohibits any discrimination, including gender.
In 2024, the UAE was the most equal MENA country in WEF’s Global Gender Pay Gap report.
It ranked 10th globally for one of the indicators making up the index, ‘wage equality for similar work’.
Women now comprise:
Sources: Emirates Businesswomen Council/ LinkedIn
Some 61 percent of working women in the UAE believe their company ensures fair pay, according to an Oliver Wyman UAE Private Sector Employee Survey (2023).
GCC | 2024 worldwide ranking | Score (100% = parity) | Change since 2023 |
UAE | #74 | 71.3% | -3 |
Bahrain | #116 | 66.6% | -3 |
Saudi Arabia | #126 | 64.7% | +5 |
Qatar | #130 | 64.0% | +3 |
Kuwait | #131 | 63.6% | -11 |
Oman | #136 | 62.8% | +3 |
Source: World Economic Forum
Worldwide | 2024 worldwide ranking | Score (100% = parity) | Change since 2023 |
Iceland | #1 | 93.5% | – |
Finland | #2 | 87.5% | +1 |
Norway | #3 | 87.5% | -1 |
New Zealand | #4 | 83.5% | – |
Sweden | #5 | 81.6% | – |
Source: World Economic Forum
The UAE is also 7th in the UN’s Gender Inequality Index 2024.
In 2015 it was in 49th place & in 2022 in 11th place.
Experts say UAE changes have helped lift the Emirates’ global scores:
Iceland has topped the index for 15 years, followed in 2024 by Finland, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden.
Nevertheless, we still have work to do.
The global gender pay gap is still estimated at 20 percent.
Globally, women earn 77 cents for every $1 men make.
It could take 134 years – five generations – to close the gap worldwide.
In September 2018, the UAE showed its support for the UN Women’s HeForShe movement by displaying a quote on the Burj Khalifa from HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak that read: “Women have been and will always be, equal partners in the UAE’s success story.” The top half of the skyscraper was plunged into darkness.
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