Women make up 71% of Emirati private-sector workforce

More than 123,000 Emirati women are now working in the UAE private sector, an increase of more than 128 per cent compared with 2023, according to new figures from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.

The number reached 123,388 women by the end of the first half of 2026, while more than 26,000 private-sector establishments have employed Emirati women, the ministry reported. 

The figures point to a rapid expansion of women’s participation in the private-sector workforce, traditionally one of the central targets of the UAE’s Emiratisation drive.

The ministry attributed the growth to policies aimed at widening access to jobs, creating equal opportunities and supporting Emirati women as they move into a broader range of professions and senior positions.

It reported that 98 per cent of Emirati women working in the private sector hold skilled jobs, including specialist and technical roles.

Women also accounted for 55 per cent of Emiratis holding leadership and executive positions in the private sector, according to the ministry.

Their presence was even higher at the upper professional levels, where women represented 70 per cent of Emirati employees.

The ministry also reported that women accounted for 70 per cent of young Emiratis employed in the private sector, pointing to a particularly strong female presence among the newest generation entering the workforce.

The figures come as the UAE continues to expand Emiratisation requirements and incentives intended to increase the number of citizens working outside government.

By the end of the first half of 2026, the total number of Emiratis working in the private sector had exceeded 190,000, according to the ministry.

The ministry also stated that Emirati women represented 71 per cent of the national private-sector workforce. The figures as published, however, do not appear to reconcile arithmetically with the separate totals of 123,388 women and more than 190,000 Emirati employees.