Is a maternity leave update coming to the UAE's private sector?

The UAE Government Annual Meetings 2025, held in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday under the session titled “Family Growth Supportive Policies”, discussed a proposal to review maternity leave for women working in the private sector.

The discussion emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance between strengthening the family unit and empowering working women, while ensuring business sustainability and corporate competitiveness. The proposal aims to develop a comprehensive framework that enhances family stability and empowers working women through policies that promote work-life balance.

The meetings also featured a series of dialogue sessions within the “Pulse of the Nation” platform — an interactive national forum that brought together officials from relevant federal and local entities to discuss systems and policies that support and sustain Emirati families as a cornerstone of holistic national development.

The sessions, attended by Sana Mohamed Suhail, Minister of Family, covered several key themes, including family formation, work–family balance, family-supportive infrastructure, family sustainability, reproductive health, social support systems for families, and family growth-supportive policies.

The session titled “Family Growth – Balancing Work and Family Life” focused on empowering families and parents to manage both professional and familial responsibilities in a way that ensures family stability. It highlighted the importance of supporting balance between work demands and family duties as a key factor in sustaining both family and societal well-being, noting that this balance is no longer a luxury but a necessity for family stability and quality of life.

Participants emphasized the need to update current policies to reflect the realities of modern family life and the accelerating pace of work. They underscored the importance of adopting more flexible workplace practices that consider the needs of parents and enable them to fulfill their family roles effectively. They further noted that investing in achieving this balance is an investment in mental health, productivity, and the stability of families and future generations.