Skilled Employees Account for 45.4% of UAE's Female Workforce

Women in the UAE hold approximately 1.039 million jobs in the private sector, with 45.4% of the female workforce classified as skilled and 16.6% in leadership roles, according to a new report from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. The figures also show that by the end of the third quarter of 2025, 35.8% of private-sector establishments employed women, with roles spanning eight professions and economic sectors. During 2024 and the first half of 2025, women’s participation in the private sector increased by 20.95%, alongside a 27.54% rise in the number of companies employing women. The number of women in leadership positions grew by 33.8%, and skilled female workers now represent 28.86% of the total skilled workforce in the private sector. Women account for 64.05% of jobs in healthcare professions and 16.61% of positions in educational professions, while more than 72,000 women serve in managerial leadership roles heading companies, departments or affiliated projects. The UAE labour law stipulates equal pay for women and men performing the same work or work of equal value, and prohibits gender-based discrimination in recruitment, promotion and across the workplace. The law removes previous restrictions on women’s night work and employment in sectors such as mining, construction, manufacturing, energy, agriculture and transportation, and prohibits terminating or warning female employees on the grounds of pregnancy.