UAE report: Emirati women make up 71.6 per cent of skilled UAE nationals in private sector

Emirati women account for 71.6 per cent of all skilled Emirati nationals employed in the private sector, while they represent 57 per cent of Emiratis working in information technology (IT) occupations, highlighting the growing presence of Emirati women in specialised and professional roles and their expanding participation in sectors linked to the digital economy.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation revealed these figures in its Labour Market Observatory Report, which also showed that the UAE’s workforce grew by 12.4 per cent in 2025 and by 2.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2026. The number of establishments increased by 7.8 per cent last year, compared with a decline of 0.9 per cent in the third quarter of this year. 

Young people accounted for 54 per cent of the country’s total workforce by the end of the same period.

Statistics obtained by Gulf News showed that Emirati women account for 98.4 per cent of all skilled Emirati women employed in the private sector, while women aged 35 and below represent 69.8 per cent of young Emirati women working in the sector.

They also account for 54.7 per cent of Emiratis holding leadership positions and 71.7 per cent of Emirati nationals employed in technical and specialised occupations.

Regarding women’s participation across key sectors, women account for 74.5 per cent of employees in education-related occupations, 66.9 per cent in healthcare professions and 38.1 per cent of the total workforce in IT occupations.

Skilled women account for 45.7 per cent of the total female workforce, while women hold 18.4 per cent of leadership positions. Meanwhile, 36.4 per cent of establishments have contributed to employing women.

In the private education and healthcare sectors, the data revealed that Emirati women account for 94.1 per cent of all Emirati nationals working in education-related professions and 91.6 per cent of Emiratis employed in healthcare occupations, reflecting their strong representation in both sectors.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has stressed that employers’ authority in the private sector is governed by legal safeguards, emphasising that any disciplinary measure or penalty imposed on an employee must be proportionate to the violation and follow an investigation in which the employee is given an opportunity to be heard, ensuring fairness and workplace discipline.

Aisha Ahmed Al Hammadi, Acting Head of the Litigation and Grievances Section at the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, highlighted the importance of distinguishing between establishing that an employee has committed a violation and determining whether imposing a disciplinary penalty is legally justified.

She noted that UAE lawmakers have recognised the importance of maintaining this balance, ensuring that employers are not granted unrestricted authority to impose disciplinary measures, while also preserving the tools they need to safeguard workplace discipline and the proper conduct of business operations.

In an article entitled “Not All Violations Are the Same”, published in the latest edition of Labour Market, the magazine issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Al Hammadi wrote:

“In the workplace, deciding to impose a disciplinary penalty on an employee may appear straightforward. However, ensuring that such a decision is fair requires more than simply establishing that a violation has occurred. It is not enough to ask: Has the employee made a mistake? We must also ask: What was the nature of the mistake? What impact did it have on the workflow? And does it warrant the penalty being considered?”

She added that an employee might be late for work for the first time, while another repeatedly arrives late despite having received warnings. Similarly, one employee might commit a mistake with limited consequences, while another, through negligence, places colleagues’ safety or the establishment’s interests at risk.

“Although a violation may be established in both cases, differences in circumstances and consequences mean that imposing the same penalty in each instance would be closer to overlooking justice than achieving it,” she explained.

Al Hammadi continued: “This is where the importance of distinguishing between establishing a violation and the legality of the resulting penalty becomes clear. The former concerns the incident itself and the evidence supporting it, while the latter relates to the validity of the procedures followed and whether the penalty is proportionate to the seriousness of the misconduct.”

She stressed that UAE lawmakers have recognised the importance of striking this balance. Accordingly, employers have not been given unrestricted authority to impose disciplinary measures, nor have they been deprived of the means necessary to maintain workplace order.

Article 39 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations, as amended, specifies the disciplinary penalties that may be imposed on employees, ranging from written notices and written warnings to dismissal from service, while preserving the employee’s entitlement to end-of-service gratuity in accordance with the applicable legal provisions.

She added: “These safeguards are not merely formal procedures that precede the issuance of a decision. Rather, they reflect an important legal principle: an employer’s authority to organise and regulate work is not absolute; it must be exercised within the limits established by law.

“Giving an employee the opportunity to be heard does not mean showing leniency towards a violation, just as examining the circumstances surrounding it does not undermine the employer’s authority.

“An investigation may uncover facts that were not apparent when the incident was initially examined. Alternatively, it may establish that the misconduct was more serious than it first appeared. In either case, a decision based on a proper investigation is more likely to achieve its intended purpose.”

Al Hammadi further noted that maintaining discipline within an establishment begins with clear workplace instructions, ensuring employees understand their obligations and establishing well-defined rules governing professional conduct.

“The clearer and more comprehensible these rules are, the lower the likelihood of violations, and the fairer and more objective the accountability process becomes when breaches occur,” she said.

From a practical perspective, she explained, an establishment’s efficiency should not be measured by the number of disciplinary penalties it imposes on employees, but rather by its ability to maintain discipline and reduce the recurrence of violations.

She pointed out that a stable working environment is not built on the absence of accountability, nor is it achieved through an excessive number of penalties. Instead, it develops when all parties clearly understand their respective rights and obligations.