Every year on August 28, Emirati Women’s Day serves as both a celebration and a reminder of the essential role women play in shaping the UAE’s future. Established to honor the achievements of Emirati women across all fields, the day underscores the country’s long-standing commitment to gender inclusion and leadership. The 2025 theme, “Hand in Hand, We Celebrate 50 Years,” marks the golden jubilee of the General Women’s Union and highlights five decades of progress built on partnership, resilience, and shared achievement.

This year’s theme resonates strongly with the progress visible in boardrooms, startups, and public institutions, where women are not only participating but leading change. As the best market research company in Dubai, Sapience recognizes how this advancement is reshaping the UAE’s economic landscape. Women leaders are influencing national policies, building successful enterprises, and shaping industries from healthcare and education to retail and finance, contributions that continue to strengthen the UAE’s position as a regional benchmark for gender-inclusive growth.

This blog explores the economic impact of female leadership in the UAE, highlighting policy reforms, entrepreneurial success, sectoral influence, and the rise of the next generation of women leaders shaping the nation’s future.

Policy Reform And Institutional Support For Women In Business

Emirati Women’s Day stands as a testament to the UAE’s progress in embedding gender equity within its economic and policy framework. Beyond celebrating achievements, the occasion reflects the nation’s sustained efforts to create an enabling environment for women in business and leadership. The UAE has implemented a series of targeted reforms to strengthen the role of women in business, anchored in national strategies such as Vision 2031 and the Gender Balance Strategy. These frameworks have translated into measurable policy shifts, including mandatory female representation on listed company boards, increased cabinet-level participation, and dedicated funding channels for women-led SMEs.

Recent policy research on women highlights the UAE’s alignment with global benchmarks such as the WEF Gender Gap Index and UN Sustainable Development Goals. Government-led initiatives, such as leadership accelerators, board diversity mandates, and SME grant programs, are designed to expand access to capital, mentorship, and executive training for Emirati and expatriate women alike. These efforts directly support female entrepreneurship and contribute to sustained SME growth across key sectors.

The private sector has responded with structured diversity frameworks, flexible work policies, and succession planning models that promote gender equity in leadership. Partnerships with academic institutions and global organizations further reinforce the talent pipeline, ensuring long-term institutional support.

As a leading market research agency for the government sector in Dubai, Sapience provides actionable regulatory insights and sectoral analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of these reforms. Our expertise as a market research company for government policies enables stakeholders to assess impact, identify gaps, and shape future strategies that advance inclusive economic development.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Women As Founders And Builders

The UAE’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is undergoing a dynamic transformation, with women increasingly positioned as founders, innovators, and strategic contributors to national development. Female entrepreneurship now accounts for nearly half of the country’s SME sector, with 47% of women identifying as entrepreneurs and 84% considering launching their own ventures. This surge reflects not only ambition but also a structural shift in the region’s business landscape. Across the UAE, women business owners are expressing strong confidence in the growth potential of their enterprises. This optimism reflects broader momentum in SME development and signals a positive outlook for female-led ventures in the years ahead.

Even with growing momentum, many women-led startups in the UAE still struggle to get funding. They receive less than 2% of venture capital, despite showing strong results in innovation and returns. While many female founders are building successful ventures in sectors like retail and wellness, their presence remains limited in fast-growing fields such as fintech, AI, and sustainability. This imbalance highlights the need to broaden access and support for women across all areas of innovation and economic growth. Closing this gap isn’t just about money. It also means offering better mentorship, building inclusive startup programs, and shaping policies that support women entrepreneurs.

Digital platforms and startup programs are playing a critical role in accelerating market access.
Organizations such as the Sharjah Business Women Council (SBWC), Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC), and Womena offer pitch competitions, strategic mentorship, and peer networks that help women scale their ventures. These platforms are essential in translating ambition into sustainable enterprise. Sapience, as a leading market research company in Dubai for women entrepreneurs, supports this ecosystem by delivering female entrepreneurship market insights that build business strategy, policy design, and investor engagement. Our research enables founders to identify market gaps, assess feasibility, and build resilient business models aligned to the UAE’s regulatory and consumer landscape.

Success stories such as Mona Ataya’s Mumzworld, Huda Kattan’s Huda Beauty, and Iman Abuzeid’s Incredible Health exemplify the diversity and scalability of women-led startups in UAE. These ventures not only reflect entrepreneurial excellence but also serve as models for emerging business strategies across the region. As the UAE continues to prioritize inclusive growth, the role of women as founders and builders will remain central to shaping the future of its innovation economy.

Sectoral Influence: Where Women Are Reshaping Business

Women in the UAE are playing a strong role in shaping key industries. Their leadership is helping businesses grow, improve services, and meet changing market needs. This is especially visible in healthcare, education, retail, and financial services.

In healthcare, Emirati women are leading clinical teams and contributing to health policy. Many are involved in planning and managing healthcare services, especially in areas like digital health and medical innovation. Their presence supports the country’s goal of building a modern and inclusive healthcare system.

In education, female-led institutions are improving how students learn and how schools operate. Women leaders are helping design better curricula and training programs. As an education industry market research company in Dubai, Sapience studies how female leadership is shaping education outcomes and driving innovation across schools and universities.

Retail and e-commerce are growing fast, and female entrepreneurship is a major part of this change. Women founders are building digital brands and creating products that meet consumer needs. Sapience’s market research for retail businesses in Dubai helps companies understand how women-led businesses are changing shopping habits, online engagement, and product development.

In financial services, more women in fintech are leading startups and working in areas like compliance and regulation. They are building new tools for payments, savings, and investment. Sapience provides insights into how women-led fintech firms are shaping the future of finance and creating more inclusive financial solutions.

These contributions by women in the UAE are leading change across sectors that matter to the country’s future. Emirati Women’s Day provides an opportunity to honor these achievements and recognize how women’s leadership continues to drive innovation, resilience, and inclusive growth across the nation.

Youth And The Future Of Leadership

A new generation of young female leaders is beginning to shape the UAE’s future business landscape. Gen Z Emirati women are entering the workforce with strong digital skills, global ambition, and a clear focus on sustainability and social impact. Their leadership style reflects a shift toward collaboration, authenticity, and purpose-driven decision-making. Many are choosing careers aligned with ESG values and are actively contributing to sectors such as fintech, healthcare, and public policy, marking the rise of Gen Z leadership across high-impact domains.

Education and mentorship have played a key role in preparing this generation for leadership. With high levels of university participation and growing interest in STEM fields, Gen Z women are well-positioned to lead innovation across industries. Early exposure to leadership through youth councils, internships, and entrepreneurship programs has helped build confidence and readiness for senior roles.

Sapience, as a government sector market research company in Dubai, continues to study how leadership development programs and gender-inclusive policies are shaping talent streams across ministries and public institutions. These trends are also reflected in female entrepreneurship, where Gen Z founders are launching ventures in e-commerce, digital services, and sustainability. Their confidence in business growth and ability to adapt to market needs signal a strong future for SME development and evolving female entrepreneurship trends.

As gender diversity and inclusion remain central to the UAE’s national agenda, the next generation of women leaders is expected to play a key role in strengthening regional influence and global positioning. Their impact will be visible not only in business performance but also in shaping gender policy across countries and advancing inclusive governance across sectors. Sapience’s leadership insights continue to support this transition by providing data-backed analysis of emerging trends, talent development, and the evolving role of Gen Z leadership in the UAE.

Regional Influence And Global Positioning

The UAE continues to position itself as a benchmark for gender-inclusive economic policy within the GCC, driven by national strategies that prioritize female leadership, inclusive governance, and gender diversity across public and private sectors. Through sustained investment in education, entrepreneurship, and leadership development, the UAE has cultivated a new generation of young female leaders who are actively shaping policy, innovation, and business performance.

Compared to neighboring markets such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the UAE demonstrates accelerated progress in integrating gender-inclusive policies into its economic framework. While Saudi Arabia has introduced reforms to expand women’s participation in the workforce and Qatar has made strides in female representation in education and healthcare, the UAE’s approach is distinguished by its cross-sectoral emphasis on ESG-aligned leadership, female entrepreneurship, and SME development. These efforts are reinforced by data-driven initiatives from entities like Sapience, which continue to monitor and analyze workforce development channels and leadership trends across ministries and institutions.

Looking ahead, there is significant potential for cross-border collaboration and knowledge exchange among GCC countries. Joint platforms for leadership training, regional mentorship networks, and shared research on Gen Z leadership can accelerate inclusive growth and strengthen the region’s global positioning. By fostering dialogue and cooperation, the UAE and its neighbors can collectively advance gender policy across countries, enhance innovation ecosystems, and promote sustainable development through a unified, gender-inclusive lens.

Conclusion

Emirati Women’s Day celebrates the leadership, achievements, and transformative role of women in the UAE. These contributions highlight the critical importance of turning intent into action to achieve inclusive economic growth. As female entrepreneurship gains momentum across the GCC, market insights reveal both progress and persistent gaps. To close these, stakeholders must adopt gender-inclusive business policies and inclusive growth strategies that translate potential into performance.
Sapience, a leading government sector market research company in Dubai, is committed to this shift.

We deliver the data and analysis needed to support inclusive, resilient economies. Our expertise in female entrepreneurship market insights helps decision-makers shape ecosystems where women’s leadership serves as a foundational element of economic strategy, shaping decisions, driving performance, and expanding opportunity.