More than 4 in 10 new hires – 42 percent – at top companies across the UAE and the wider GCC region are women, according to a new report released on Monday. The study, published by workplace culture consultancy Avtar Group, also found that women currently represent 33 percent of the workforce at the best-rated companies in the GCC. However, less than three out of 10 — 28 percent — were promoted.
Encouragingly, 95 percent of companies in the UAE and GCC now offer leadership training for women. Additionally, 79 percent provide formal mentoring and executive coaching to support women’s career advancement.
“Why a company should have more women is still not fully understood by many organizations. Because of that, the kind of positions that are filled by women are what we call the ‘easy positions’ that you can quickly fill it. These are not high positions. This is why only 42 percent of the entry-level positions are filled by women,” Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, founder-president of Avtar Group, told Khaleej Times in an interview on Monday.
Dr. Saundarya highlighted that while 42 percent of entry-level roles are filled by women, this is still not enough – especially considering the overall population distribution. “That’s not even 50 percent. If it were 50 percent or probably more, we would be happy,” she said, noting that female representation tends to diminish further up the corporate ladder.
According to Global Insights, of the 11.35 million residents in the UAE, 63.8 percent are male, while 36.2 percent are female. Across the broader GCC region, males make up approximately 62.8 percent of the population (around 38.5 million), while females represent 37.2 percent (22.7 million), according to data from the GCC Statistical Center. A significant portion of the male population comprises blue-collar workers who migrate to the region to support families back home.
Dr. Saundarya emphasized the importance of balanced hiring from the outset. “If 100 people join a corporation at the entry level, with 60 percent women and only 40 percent men, over the years, you will find that the number of women will slowly shrink. So, if you have only 42 percent women at the entry level, it will come down to single digits in the higher positions,” Dr. Saundarya said on the sidelines of the launch of Best Companies for Women in the Gulf 2025 report released on Monday.
These insights were shared during the launch of the Best Companies for Women in the Gulf 2025 report, which identifies the top organizations supporting gender diversity and inclusion. Some of the standout companies (in alphabetical order) include Apparel Group, Beauty Steps, Canon Middle East, CBRE Advisory Services, GIG GULF Insurance, House of Shipping Management Consultancies FZCO, Ingram Micro Company, MCA Management Consultants and MCA Auditing, and Wipro Limited.
Dr. Saundarya noted that women still face barriers entering traditionally male-dominated sectors in the GCC, particularly oil and gas. “In the GCC oil and gas sector, for example, women are rarely hired into technical entry-level roles — whether upstream or downstream,” she explained. “Instead, they’re often restricted to HR, customer service, secretarial, or front-desk roles. But will they be hired as engineers, scientists, chartered accountants, and legal advisor roles? Not very likely.”
However, she noted the landscape is beginning to shift. When asked whether qualified female talent is available in the region for these high-skill roles, Dr. Rajesh was optimistic: “Previously, the talent pool wasn’t there. But today, thanks to significant investments in education across the GCC, we’re seeing a rise in qualified women — Emiratis, Arabs, and expats alike.”
She urged employers to proactively seek out female candidates and invest in gender-balanced hiring practices: “Corporates must go the extra mile to ensure more women are brought into the workforce — especially in sectors and roles where they’ve traditionally been underrepresented.”
